Khalifa Haftar
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Europe’s waning influence in the Middle East

Once a key player in the Middle East, Europe has gradually begun to ignore the region – even conflicts that had a direct impact on European states, like the 2015 refugee crisis caused by the war in Syria. The power vacuum left in Europe’s wake is now being filled by other powers, among them Turkey and Russia. However, if the European Union develops a united stance, it could still play a role in troubled areas.

The UAE’s next moves in Libya
The UAE is among a number of regional and global powers that have inserted themselves into the years long civil war in Libya. The small Gulf state has been keen to influence maritime dynamics, control energy infrastructure and preserve access to the Sahel. The UAE will likely follow a softer ...


Turkey’s decisive entry into Libya’s civil war
The militias of Tobruk-based warlord Khalifa Haftar failed to take the capital of Libya and are being pushed out from the western part of the country, where there are strategic oil fields. Turkey’s intervention played a decisive role in this military outcome. As other external powers engaged in Libya consider ...


Relevance beyond the crisis: In the Middle East, more chaos or a glimmer of hope?
Many expected the coronavirus to spread rapidly throughout the Middle East, but save for Turkey and Iran, most countries in the region had the pandemic under control early on, thanks to aggressive containment measures. However, the drop in oil prices will be felt keenly in the area, potentially leading to ...


The fires of Libya’s 10-year war
After nearly a decade of conflict and foreign interventions, the Libyan conflict is nowhere near resolved. Weapons and ammunition are still being delivered to both parties by external actors, perpetuating the fighting. With deep divides in both the international community and Libyan society, the situation is unlikely to change in ...
