Targeting Environmental Infrastructure: Libya Conflict Case Study

Since 2011, Libya has experienced a devastating civil conflict. In almost a decade, it has led to the significant destruction of civilian and industrial infrastructure, with a significant impact not only on the lives and health of citizens but also on the environmental situation in the country. Opposing groups have used airstrikes, shelling, and sieges against cities, threatening energy and water infrastructure to force cities to capitulate and deprive competing groups of energy resources and revenues. It is the focus on environmental infrastructure that allows armed groups and even government institutions to supplant the urban population, punish civilians perceived as sympathetic to the enemy, and gain access to the infrastructure that underlies modern life. Environmental problems, hard-to-reach resources that ensure the normal functioning of people’s daily lives are likely to lead to renewed violence.