As clashes between rival Libyan militias continue, with a particularly violent battle erupting earlier this week, the fighting that has left hundreds dead or displaced threatens to divide the country.
The violence also poses a problem for reconstruction efforts, in part because of its potential to undermine the country’s upcoming elections, currently scheduled for June 20.
"These clashes have complicated things in a number of ways. The biggest is that international workers and programs and organizations will have to assess what’s going on in Libya in terms of safety and operability before they send people out, and, for a country that so desperately needs so much from the international community, that does not help," William Lawrence, North Africa Project director for the International Crisis Group, told Trend Lines. "The clashes point to political and social and other sorts of conflicts, and those conflicts need to be sorted out before you have any kind of effective reconstruction."