Outside, the silence of the empty streets was only broken occasionally by the sound of ambulances carrying rebel fighters to a makeshift hospital set up by anti-Gaddafi fighters just outside Sirte.
There was also the constant, though hidden, presence of pro-Gaddafi snipers who were the main threat dominating the daily routine. Days later, after several intense battles had been fought and the rebels were halfway to the city centre, I was on the rooftop of a residential building near some teenage fighters who were taking selfies and photographing each other while shooting their rifles and machine guns.
Young and inexperienced, they were better with their cameras than they were with their guns. But neither one could help them when the bullets and rockets from the pro-Gaddafi side landed. Right beside me, one of the teenagers and a middle-aged man were shot in the chest and the leg.
They were evacuated immediately, seemingly lifeless. Later, the fighters from Misrata reached a street called Dubai Road, where a fierce battle took place for a few days. There, the rebels caught a scared man in an olive jacket, alleged by them to be a Gaddafi loyalist. But suddenly, from behind me, a group started shouting excitedly. Although I did not speak the language, I knew they certainly meant for me to stop. So, I stepped aside, watching as the man was put into a pick-up truck by his captors and driven away, leaving only a dense cloud of dust in the air behind him.
The remaining fighters, who were initially angered by my presence, laughed in celebration. The battle at Dubai Road was a key point for the Misrata fighters advancing towards the centre of Sirte from the south.
Gaddafi loyalists were putting up a tough resistance. But the rebels, apparently larger in number and using the surprise tactic of moving forward when bullets were incoming, managed to advance. One katiba from Benghazi started squeezing out pro-Gaddafi fighters block by block from the east, until they reached a residential area through the broken gate of a destroyed school. This was followed by an intense firefight at an intersection of residential compounds that lasted the whole afternoon.
In an attempt to kill a couple of snipers shooting at them from further down on the other side of the street, the Benghazi fighters almost hit one another with their AKs and rocket-propelled grenades.
Meanwhile, not far from the corner, some rebel fighters laid their weapons down on a wall and rested on the sidewalk amid the debris of ammunition around them. They almost looked like they were enjoying a weekend at the beach, without any worries, as they waited their turn to rejoin the fight. By then, the end was near. Nearby, in a two-storey compound with large balconies facing the ocean, I smelled something unusual and soon discovered what it was: corpses already wrapped in white sheets, ready to be buried.
After defeating the former government's forces, militia groups had become the only functioning security force, which was later cemented by a decision to put those forces on the government pay role. The International Crisis Group estimated there were between and armed militia groups that fought against Gaddafi's forces — by , that number had skyrocketed to approximately 1, A third key issue, was a failure to collect and secure the large amounts of weapons flooding through the nations streets following Gaddafi's death.
When the uprisings began, anti-government fighters lacked weapons and ammunition, so they began staging attacks on army bases and weapons storage units. When NATO forces bombed a weapons catchment area in the desert near Sirte, Gaddafi's men fled leaving behind 40 massive bunkers stretching as far as the eye could see, all full of weapons and ammunition up for grabs.
Hundreds of people rampaged through the stockpiles, as a trail of trucks, vans and cars streamed out with their trailers, backseats, rooftops and even bonnets loaded up to the brim. When the fighting ended, both individuals and militia groups had amassed a huge stockpile of basic and advanced weaponry. In towns like Misrata, which were instrumental in defeating Gaddafi's forces, almost every household had a collection of guns — many even had missiles and grenade launchers, and one family I knew even had their own personal tank in their backyard.
Since , Libyan elections — hampered by unorthodox tactics, threats, violence and occasional kidnappings and assassinations — have failed to produce a majority win. Holding elections within an armed environment like Libya was, according to Mr Eljarh, a "very unfortunate miscalculation", while former transitional government member Dr Faraj al-Sayeh said that "the speeding up of elections was the start of the chaos".
Dr Sayeh, now a professor at the University of Benghazi, believes that the National Transitional Council should have stayed in power to unify the military first, instead of the rush to hold elections and write a constitution, which resulted in "many pitfalls". In June , national election results for the House of Representatives were rejected by a coalition government in power in Tripoli, who had been previously elected and were backed by powerful militias. The elected House established itself in the east of Libya, resulting in an institutional split of the country, which has since led to two opposing governments in the east and west that are now fighting for control of Libya's capital Tripoli.
General Haftar was a former army officer under Gaddafi, who was sentenced to death in absentia for plans to stage a coup. In February , General Haftar announced in a televised statement that the government in Tripoli had been dissolved — although it continued to control Libya's west — and launched a two-year fight against militia groups in the East claiming he was "fighting terrorism" and trying to stabilise Libya.
Dr Sayeh said these Benghazi militia groups — many of which were affiliated with Al Qaeda or Islamic State — had "terrorised" the city, but after their defeat government institutions were established. It's not per cent yet, but at least you can feel there is a system working," he said. While many see Haftar as a "dictator" and a "counter-revolutionary", his strongman tactics have won popular support amid the chaos that followed Gaddafi's ouster, which has left some Libyans questioning the wisdom of removing the former authoritarian leader.
Tripoli and Libya's west meanwhile are controlled by the Government of National Accord GNA , an interim government established in through a UN-led political agreement between the elected House in the east and the then-ruling government in Tripoli.
It is still recognised by the UN as the sole legitimate government in Libya, but the House of Representatives — who back General Haftar — has since withdrawn support for the deal. Militiamen fighting in Tripoli for the GNA — which is supported by Turkey and Qatar — say they are defending the revolution and civilian rule and fighting the return of a dictatorship, but observers maintain that the GNA do not have control over the militia forces in the area.
But while both sides argue their legitimacy, in reality neither have been democratically elected, and forces on both sides have been guilty of forced disappearances, unlawful detentions, killings, kidnappings, torture and extortion. The United Nations and international powers have been pushing for talks between the two sides, but many such talks have been held before and failed. A clear winner could bring stability in some form, and some foreign powers — including the United States, Russia and France — have been toying with the idea of backing General Haftar to tip the current stand off in his favour.
At the same time, countries like Turkey are heavily backing the GNA which is also the government recognised by the UN. If the status quo continues, the result could be a prolonged, fractured, and severely unstable Libya.
Many of the young fighters that were so full of hope when the revolution began, say they remain trapped in a fight that seems endless within militia groups that have become their only source of security and livelihood. After years of conflict and billions of dollars worth of damage to infrastructure, Libya's economy has also plummeted, while oil production remains stifled by security fears.
Mr Eljarh holds hope that "through this difficult experience Libya will as a nation emerge with a better understanding of what it is to be Libyan". Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app. The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore. ON TV. On social media. Who are we? Fight the Fake.
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