NATO to reform war-torn Libya, 5 years after intervention

NATO is now ramping up efforts to rebuild and reform the war-stricken Libya, which became a failed state after its "intervene and then leave" policy in 2011. NATO defense ministers have agreed to assist the European Union's anti-migrant-smuggling mission off the coast of Libya, alliance Chief Jens Stoltenberg confirmed Thursday. "Within two weeks, NATO ships and planes will be in the central Mediterranean," Stoltenberg said. During their two-day talks in Brussels, the NATO ministers agreed to provide the EU with reconnaissance and logistical assistance for the military operation.

Stoltenberg told reporters Thursday that ships and aircraft will be deployed to help within two weeks.

The EUNAVFOR MED naval mission - also known as Operation Sophia - was launched last year to tackle migration flows from northern Africa to Italy and to reduce the number of deaths in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine vessels currently take part in Operation Sophia, which has helped save the lives of close to 16,000 migrants, according to the EU.

Five years after Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi was toppled by NATO intervention, the country has become the main jump-off point for migrants heading for Europe, and the breeding ground for militants as there has been no security or stability left in the war-torn country. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are more than 264,000 refugees and migrants currently in the war-torn country.

The oil-rich North African country descended into chaos after Western intervention and parts of the country have become a bastion for Daesh, giving militants a new base even as its territory in Syria and Iraq shrinks under constant assault.

Libya has suffered from a chronic absence of security as various actors have emerged. There are two centers of power in the crisis- hit country; the internationally recognized government in Tobruk, the Government of National Accord (GNA), and the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC). The GNA is the centerpiece of UN efforts to end the five years of chaos in Libya and it now faces an even tougher battle to assert its authority over the rival administration in the east.

The powerlessness of the central government has led many people to take up arms against the government. After the ouster and subsequent killing of the strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the army has disintegrated, and the central government has gradually lost its power without having much effect on the ongoing violent clashes between armed forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar. State security forces have also failed to protect the government, leaving the country unprotected and open to heavy clashes between rival militias trying to gain authority over the government and the country. Peace and political stability seems far off, as no rival militias have been strong enough to put an end to the ongoing war.