Understanding The Fighting Factions In Libya

Understanding The Fighting Factions In Libya NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Mansour El-Kikhia of the University of Texas at San Antonio about Gen. Khalifa Haftar, whose forces in Libya are advancing on the government in Tripoli LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: Since the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya has struggled to establish and maintain a stable government. Libya is divided between the U.N.-backed government located in Tripoli in the west, protected by a coalition of militias. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Some people would counter that, actually, Haftar's forces are also comprised of militias with little ideology, some elements within them are so-called extremists and that he is no better than the forces he's purporting to counter. But nothing came out of that because the government in Tripoli can't take any decisions given the fact that it has to consult with the militias first, whom it depends on for protection.