World Conflicts

Libya instability

Active Low intensity Intrastate Africa 15 Feb 2011 to present

Libya remains split between the UN-recognized Government of National Unity in Tripoli and eastern authorities aligned with Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army. A 2020 ceasefire ended large-scale war, but militia clashes, drone strikes on oil and fuel sites, and assassinations continued through 2026, while UN-backed plans for elections remain unimplemented.

Conflict zones

Click a shape for details and sources

Zones, lines of contact and strike arcs are approximate and illustrative, drawn from public reporting. They are not authoritative; click a shape for its sources. Borders from Natural Earth, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine in line with UN General Assembly resolution 68/262.

Key facts

Armed clashes in Zawiya, 2026
30+
ACLED as of 12 Aug 2026
Days of drone strikes on Zawiya refinery
4 (8-11 Aug 2026)
ACLED as of 12 Aug 2026
Migrants identified in Libya
950,004 (May-Jun 2026)
IOM DTM Libya as of 30 Jun 2026
Storm Daniel deaths (2023)
11,300+
CFR Global Conflict Tracker as of 3 Aug 2026
Reported fatalities, last 4 weeks (ACLED)
8
ACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026
Deaths in 2026, 1 Jan to 10 Aug 2026 (UCDP)
31 best estimate (31–31)
UCDP GED Candidate 26.0.9 as of 10 Aug 2026

Human cost

Fatalities
5
  • 5 reportedXinhua via China.org.cn as of 4 Aug 2026Single incident: armed clashes in Sorman/Zawiya on 4 Aug 2026; no reliable nationwide annual total found
Killed in 2026 so far (UCDP)
31
People displaced
106K
All forcibly displaced, country-wide (UNHCR)
54K
Recorded events, last 30 days
10

Parties and actors

  • Government of National Unity (Tripoli) and aligned armed groups Internationally recognized government · aligned with West
  • Libyan National Army (Khalifa Haftar) and eastern government Rival armed forces and administration · aligned with East
  • Local militias (e.g. in Zawiya, Tripoli) Non-state armed groups

Parties are listed factually by name and role. Inclusion does not imply any judgement.

Negotiations

Negotiations hub
UNSMIL political roadmap and Structured Dialogue Stalled
Parties
Government of National Unity, House of Representatives / eastern authorities, Libyan civil society
Mediators
UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)
Last development
18 Jun 2026

The UN envoy presented a roadmap covering elections, unifying institutions, security and economic reform; a dialogue with about 120 Libyans produced nearly 600 recommendations, but rival authorities have not agreed on electoral terms.

UN News as of 18 Jun 2026

Trend: events and reported fatalities by month

Events per month Reported fatalities per month
0 0 25 25 50 50 75 75 100 100Nov 2021: 9 events, 4 reported fatalitiesDec 2021: 6 events, 19 reported fatalitiesJan 2022: 15 events, 12 reported fatalities2022Feb 2022: 8 events, 21 reported fatalitiesMar 2022: 4 events, 1 reported fatalitiesApr 2022: 13 events, 13 reported fatalitiesMay 2022: 15 events, 16 reported fatalitiesJun 2022: 13 events, 8 reported fatalitiesJul 2022: 11 events, 20 reported fatalitiesAug 2022: 10 events, 33 reported fatalitiesSep 2022: 6 events, 8 reported fatalitiesOct 2022: 8 events, 15 reported fatalitiesNov 2022: 5 events, 4 reported fatalitiesDec 2022: 8 events, 5 reported fatalitiesJan 2023: 4 events, 2 reported fatalities2023Feb 2023: 6 events, 5 reported fatalitiesMar 2023: 2 events, 0 reported fatalitiesApr 2023: 3 events, 5 reported fatalitiesMay 2023: 10 events, 13 reported fatalitiesJun 2023: 4 events, 0 reported fatalitiesJul 2023: 6 events, 3 reported fatalitiesAug 2023: 15 events, 56 reported fatalitiesSep 2023: 4 events, 0 reported fatalitiesOct 2023: 5 events, 8 reported fatalitiesNov 2023: 4 events, 0 reported fatalitiesDec 2023: 12 events, 6 reported fatalitiesJan 2024: 7 events, 2 reported fatalities2024Feb 2024: 14 events, 17 reported fatalitiesMar 2024: 20 events, 10 reported fatalitiesApr 2024: 22 events, 11 reported fatalitiesMay 2024: 17 events, 15 reported fatalitiesJun 2024: 26 events, 24 reported fatalitiesJul 2024: 27 events, 11 reported fatalitiesAug 2024: 31 events, 36 reported fatalitiesSep 2024: 16 events, 9 reported fatalitiesOct 2024: 8 events, 2 reported fatalitiesNov 2024: 31 events, 20 reported fatalitiesDec 2024: 6 events, 2 reported fatalitiesJan 2025: 25 events, 15 reported fatalities2025Feb 2025: 17 events, 36 reported fatalitiesMar 2025: 35 events, 16 reported fatalitiesApr 2025: 28 events, 23 reported fatalitiesMay 2025: 55 events, 66 reported fatalitiesJun 2025: 17 events, 7 reported fatalitiesJul 2025: 30 events, 22 reported fatalitiesAug 2025: 45 events, 31 reported fatalitiesSep 2025: 32 events, 24 reported fatalitiesOct 2025: 22 events, 7 reported fatalitiesNov 2025: 29 events, 18 reported fatalitiesDec 2025: 14 events, 11 reported fatalitiesJan 2026: 23 events, 13 reported fatalities2026Feb 2026: 24 events, 26 reported fatalitiesMar 2026: 20 events, 15 reported fatalitiesApr 2026: 26 events, 13 reported fatalitiesMay 2026: 31 events, 40 reported fatalitiesJun 2026: 31 events, 20 reported fatalitiesJul 2026: 25 events, 28 reported fatalitiesAug 2026: 38 events, 21 reported fatalitiesSep 2026: 21 events, 12 reported fatalitiesOct 2026: 10 events, 8 reported fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Political violence events only (battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians).
Show data table
MonthEventsFatalities
Oct 2026108
Sep 20262112
Aug 20263821
Jul 20262528
Jun 20263120
May 20263140
Apr 20262613
Mar 20262015
Feb 20262426
Jan 20262313
Dec 20251411
Nov 20252918
Oct 2025227
Sep 20253224
Aug 20254531
Jul 20253022
Jun 2025177
May 20255566
Apr 20252823
Mar 20253516
Feb 20251736
Jan 20252515
Dec 202462
Nov 20243120
Oct 202482
Sep 2024169
Aug 20243136
Jul 20242711
Jun 20242624
May 20241715
Apr 20242211
Mar 20242010
Feb 20241417
Jan 202472
Dec 2023126
Nov 202340
Oct 202358
Sep 202340
Aug 20231556
Jul 202363
Jun 202340
May 20231013
Apr 202335
Mar 202320
Feb 202365
Jan 202342
Dec 202285
Nov 202254
Oct 2022815
Sep 202268
Aug 20221033
Jul 20221120
Jun 2022138
May 20221516
Apr 20221313
Mar 202241
Feb 2022821
Jan 20221512
Dec 2021619
Nov 202194

Events by type

Battles Explosions / remote violence Violence against civilians
0 25 50 75 100 20222023202420252026
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Most affected provinces

  1. West 255 events · 182 fatalities
  2. South 19 events · 35 fatalities
  3. East 18 events · 8 fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Last 12 months, political violence events.

Sources and further reading

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