It has all seemed to be downhill since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011. A succession of ineffectual governments led by Libyan exiles returning from the west and without any domestic power base led to an escalation of militias and factions.
The resulting anarchy eventually attracted the attention of the Islamic State (IS), which last year succeeded in establishing a presence in the central oil port of Sirte.
Libyans
