Since the United States led a NATO military intervention in 2011 to overthrow longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has been wracked by violent power struggles among an assortment of armed militias. Now it might be headed for a partition.

Chaotic post-Qaddafi Libya quickly became a Mediterranean version of Somalia. Over the past few years, the struggle has coalesced into a fight between two rival factions. One is the so-called Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the country's traditional capital, Tripoli, in western Libya. The United Nations and most countries, including the United States and its allies, recognize the GNA as Libya's legitimate government. The other contending party is the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, a onetime CIA asset who has fallen out of Washington's favor. The LNA is based in the major eastern city of Benghazi. 

Both sides have attracted important foreign backers, especially once the LNA launched a military offensive in early 2019 aimed at capturing Tripoli and establishing control over the entire country.