Aftermath of the Libyan civil war The aftermath of the Libyan civil war was characterized by marked change in the social and political order of Libya , following the overthrow and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in the Libyan civil war . After the interim National Transitional Council ( NTC ) declared that the country had been liberated in October 2011 , it began a process to form a new government , prepare for elections and prosecute former Gaddafi officials . In the absence of an organized military , armed militias of former rebels continued to assert their role as " guardians of the revolution " around the country , and there were reports of vigilante justice and sporadic clashes between rival militias . International organizations voiced concerns over the proliferation of weapons in the region , and the risk that they might fall into the hands of militant Islamists . Elections were held in July 2012 to a General National Congress ( GNC ) , which took power a month later . The NTC was dissolved , and in November Ali Zeidan was sworn in as Prime Minister . Zeidan has listed his government ' s priorities as " security , defence , health , public services , the economy , and starting the process of national reconciliation . " The GNC on the other hand is primarily concerned with organising a constituent assembly , which will write Libya ' s new constitution . Uprising and civil war . The popular uprising against the government of Gaddafi began in January 2011 as non - violent protests , simultaneously with other protests in the Arab Spring . Within weeks , violence broke out in clashes between police and protesters . In February , the National Transitional Council ( NTC ) was formed in an effort to consolidate efforts for change in the rule of Libya . Gaddafi forces lost control of several cities in eastern Libya , and a number of officials resigned or defected from his government . In March , Gaddafi forces launched a counteroffensive , and regained many of the cities that had been lost to opposition forces . In mid - March , tanks of Gaddafi forces rolled into the main remaining bastion of the opposition forces , Benghazi . At the same time , aircraft of the French Air Force entered Libyan airspace under the mandate of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 , to prevent any attacks on the city . A multinational coalition launched a large scale air - based military intervention to disable the Gaddafi government ' s military capabilities and enforce the UN Security Council resolution . By the end of March , command of the coalition operations had been assumed by NATO under Operation Unified Protector . The following months were characterized by a stalemate on the ground , as opposition fighters were unable to retake cities in western Libya . The stalemate was broken in August as opposition forces advanced on the cities surrounding Tripoli . By the end of August , opposition fighters had captured Tripoli , with little resistance from Gaddafi forces . The opposition then launched a series of campaigns against the last pockets of resistance by Gaddafi loyalists , and in October , Gaddafi and several other leading figures in his government were captured and killed in Gaddafi ' s hometown of Sirte . Events after Gaddafi ' s death . On 23 October 2011 , the National Transitional Council officially declared that Libya had been liberated . Libya ' s " de facto " prime minister , Mahmoud Jibril announced that consultations were under way to form an interim government within one month , followed by elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months and parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within a year after that . Jibril then stepped down to make place for elections and was succeeded as interim prime minister by Abdurrahim El - Keib after a brief period in which Jibril ' s deputy , Ali Tarhouni , had assumed his duties . El - Keib was elected by members of the National Transitional Council , gaining 26 out of 51 votes . On 31 October 2011 , the United Nations mandate authorizing international military action in Libya was lifted , and NATO ' s Operation Unified Protector formally ended , in spite of requests by the NTC for military assistance to continue . Formation of a government . On 22 November 2011 , the NTC named its interim government . Osama al - Juwaili , a commander of the military council in Zintan whose forces were responsible for the capture of Saif al - Islam Gaddafi , was named defense minister . Fawzi Abdelali , a militia leader from Misrata , was named interior minister . Ashour Bin Hayal , a diplomat originally from Derna , was named foreign minister . Hassan Ziglam , an oil industry executive , was named finance minister . Ali Hameda Ashour was named justice minister . Abdulrahman Ben Yezza , a former executive with the Italian oil and gas company Eni , was made oil minister . On 3 January 2012 , Yousef al - Manqoush , a retired general from Misrata , was named head of the Libyan National Army by the NTC . On 26 April 2012 , it was reported that majority of the NTC members approved a no - confidence motion against Prime Minister Abdurrahim el - Keib citing incompetence as main reason . However , the president of the NTC denied the news stating that the government will stay until the elections in June . On 14 October 2012 , Ali Zeidan was elected Prime Minister by a vote of 93 to 85 , with two weeks to submit his proposed new government for approval by Congress . Zeidan ' s cabinet , formed by ministers from the NFA , the JCP , and independents , was approved by Congress on 31 October 2012 and sworn in on 14 November . First public elections . On 1 January 2012 , the NTC released a 15 - page draft law that would regulate the election of a national assembly charged with writing a new constitution and forming a second caretaker government . The proposed law laid out more than 20 classes of people who would be prohibited from standing as candidates in the elections , including Libyans who had ties to Muammar Gaddafi , former officials accused of torturing Libyans or embezzling public funds , active members of the Revolutionary Guard , opposition members who made peace with Gaddafi and academics who wrote about Gaddafi ' s The Green Book . The draft bill also stipulated that 10 % of the 200 seats in the constituent assembly would be reserved for women . The finalization of the election law would be followed by the appointment of an election commission to divide the country into constituencies and oversee the poll , to be held in June . The Forum of National Parties , an association of 12 moderate Islamist parties , said it rejected the proposed election law because it encouraged voting along tribal lines and gave undue influence to the wealthy . According to Wasila al - Ashiq , head of one of the parties represented in the organization , candidates would have to run as independents under the proposed law because Libya has no law regulating political parties . That would mean that those candidates capable of drawing on tribal power and affiliation would win the seats , she said , while minorities such as the Berbers would be ignored . On 28 January 2012 , the NTC announced it had adopted a revised version of the electoral bill as law . The proposed 10 percent quota for female members of the constituent assembly was dropped ; instead , the law required political parties to have equal numbers of men and women in their candidate lists . Furthermore , the law called for two - thirds of the 200 seats in the constituent assembly - the so - called General National Congress - to go to candidates of political parties , while the remaining seats would be held by independents . A new law governing the formation of political organisations was passed on by the NTC on 24 April . Political parties based on on regional , tribal or religious affiliation were prohibited . Furthermore , parties cannot be an extension of a political party abroad or receive foreign funding . On 7 July 2012 , Libyans voted in their first parliamentary elections since the end of the rule of Muammar Gaddafi . The election , in which more than 100 political parties had registered , formed an interim 200 - member national assembly . The purpose of this assembly was to replace the unelected NTC , name a prime minister , and form a committee to draft a constitution . The vote was postponed several times to resolve logistical and technical problems , and to give more time to register to vote , and to vetting candidates . On 17 July 2012 , the High National Election Commission announced provisional results . Jibril ' s National Forces Alliance ( NFA ) received 48 . 1 % , taking 39 out of the 80 party - list seats . This was followed by the Justice and Construction Party ( JCP ) , which received 10 . 3 % and 17 seats and third was the National Front Party with 4 . 1 % and three seats . The Union for the Homeland and the National Centrist Party also took two seats , as did the Wadi Al - Hayah Party for Democracy and Development . Fifteen other parties won one party list seat each . On 8 August 2012 , the General National Congress replaced NTC . Prosecution of Gaddafi officials . Saif al - Islam Gaddafi , his father ' s " heir apparent " , was captured near the town of Ubari in the Libyan Desert by Zintan i militiamen on 19 November 2011 . His capture was confirmed by the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) , which issued an arrest warrant for Saif al - Islam Gaddafi and his father during the war . The military council in Zintan said it would hold the Gaddafi son in Zintan until Abdurrahim El - Keib , the incoming prime minister of Libya , formed a government it considered capable of taking custody of the high - ranking prisoner . The chief prosecutor of the ICC , Luis Moreno - Ocampo , said that he was " not competing " with Libyan authorities to prosecute Saif al - Islam Gaddafi and that he was happy for the case to be tried in Libya . The ICC said in a separate statement that it had the " exclusive competence " to decide on the continuation of the case before the court , and that if Libyan authorities wish to conduct the prosecutions against Gaddafi in their own country , they must submit a challenge to the admissibility of the case to the ICC . On 8 November 2011 , a Tunisian court ruled that the former Secretary of the General People ' s Committee under Gaddafi ' s government , Baghdadi Mahmudi , should be extradite d to Libya . In December , Tunisian interim President Foued Mebazaa said he would not sign a decree to extradite Mahmudi due to fears that he would be subjected to torture if returned to Libya . One of Mahmudi ' s lawyers reported that Mahmudi ' s health was " seriously degraded " following a hunger strike in his prison . On 6 January 2012 , a statement signed by 15 Tunisian and international human rights groups , including Human Rights Watch , Amnesty International and the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights , called on Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki not to sign the extradition decision ordered by the court . On 6 September 2011 , Mexican authorities uncovered a plot to smuggle Al - Saadi Gaddafi , one of Muammar Gaddafi ' s sons wanted by the National Transitional Council on suspicion of war crimes , and some members of his family into the country . On 11 November 2011 , Niger ' s President Mahamadou Issoufou said his government had decided to grant Al - Saadi Gaddafi asylum " on humanitarian grounds " . Abdullah al - Senussi , Gaddafi ' s intelligence chief , was arrested at Nouakchott International Airport in Mauritania upon arrival from Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca , Morocco , by Mauritanian police on 17 March 2011 . France , Libya , and the International Criminal Court have all expressed an interest in trying Senussi . Security . Lawlessness under the interim government . During the civil war , brigades of armed volunteers sprang up around the country , reporting to local military councils , which became " de facto " local governments . Civilian leaders say that , after the declaration of liberation , the militias have shifted from merely delaying the surrender of their weapons to actively asserting a continuing political role as " guardians of the revolution " . Some of the largest , and most well - equipped brigades are associated with Islamist groups now forming political parties . Reports suggested sporadic clashes between rival militias , and vigilante revenge killings . Civilian residents reported being subjected to looting and robbery by gunmen . In December 2011 , a group of armed men dragged Libya ' s attorney general Abdul - Aziz al - Hassady from his car in broad daylight in Tripoli , threatening to kill him if he didn ' t release one of their friends who had been arrested on suspicion of murder . Days later , a group of Zintan i gunmen attacked the convoy of a top army officer , Gen . Khalifa Haftar , as it was speeding through a checkpoint set up by the group . In a separate incident , gunfire broke out between the army and the Zintan brigade at the Tripoli International Airport . On 16 December 2011 , Haftar said an armed group had abducted his son , Belgassim , and detained him at the airport . While initially unwilling to let foreign private security firms operate in Libya , by December the NTC had allowed Western mercenaries to move in to fill the security vacuum around the country . The main focus of the security contractors were oil industry sites . Among the foreign firms who had acquired a so - called " no - objection certificate " required to work in Libya were Blue Mountain Group , Garda World Security Corporation and Control Risks Group . Interim interior minister Fawzi Abdelali stated that the authorities were planning to integrate 50 , 000 former rebels into the security forces of the defence and interior ministries ; over the long term , 200 , 000 fighters would be rehabilitated . $ 8 billion were allocated to get the program started . On 6 December 2011 , Libya ' s interim government announced that , following consultations with Tripoli ' s local council , it had given militias lingering in the capital until late December to hand over security to the authorities . Officials said residents of Tripoli would convene rallies in support of the initiative to clear the city of weapons and out - of - town fighters . If militias had not withdrawn by 20 December 2011 , the authorities and members of the public intended to close the whole city to traffic . By January 2012 , the former rebels had dismantled most of their checkpoints , while some key bases still remained . In March 2012 , the Secretary - General on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya reported that : On 11 September 2012 , 4 Americans , including visiting United States Ambassador to Libya J . Christopher Stevens , were killed when the U . S . diplomatic mission in Benghazi came under attack . U . S . officials said heavily armed extremists had laid siege to the consulate using " military - style tactics " . On 21 September , thousands of demonstrators , along with government police officers , stormed the bases of several Islamist militias in Benghazi , including Ansar al - Sharia , which has been linked to the attack on the U . S . consulate , and forced their members to flee . On 9 January 2013 , the Libyan Ministry of the Interior reported that the number of murders has risen from 87 in 2010 to 525 in 2012 — a 503 % increase — , while thefts over the same period have risen from 143 to 783 — a 448 % increase . In September 2013 , armed groups were blockading oilfields . On 10 October 2013 , the Prime Minister of Libya , Ali Zeidan , was briefly captured by an armed group . He was released hours later . Extralegal imprisonments . Hundreds of suspected Gaddafi supporters have been rounded up by revolutionary brigades , often on the basis of only rumour and accusation . According to a report by the Secretary - General of the United Nations , up to 7 , 000 people , including women and children , are being held in private jails outside the control of the NTC , " with no access to due process in the absence of a functioning police and judiciary " . Many of the prisoners are being subjected to torture and systematic abuse , and there are reports of " women held in detention in the absence of female guards and under male supervision , and of children detained alongside adults . " A large number of the detainees are sub - Saharan Africans , in some cases accused or suspected of being pro - Gaddafi mercenaries , and some individuals were " being targeted because of the colour of their skin " . On 26 January 2012 , Doctors Without Borders ( MSF ) announced that it had suspended its operations in detention centres in Misrata due to detainees there being tortured and denied urgent medical care . Libyan officials acknowledged that prisoners held by revolutionary forces had been abused , but insisted that the mistreatment had been committed by militias not yet under the control of the new government and that the authorities were trying to eliminate it . A law passed by the NTC ordered militias to refer all cases against Gaddafi supporters to government prosecutors by 1 July 2012 . According to the UN , about 8 , 000 people were still being held in Libya ' s detention centres as of October 2013 . Proliferation of weapons . On 31 October 2011 , the United Nations Security Council expressed concern over the proliferation of weapons from Gaddafi ' s stockpiles , worrying they could fall into the hands of al - Qaeda and other militant groups . Officials of the NTC said it was not clear how many weapons were still in circulation . A report by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya said that Gaddafi ' s government had accumulated a large stockpile of MANPAD s , and that although thousands were destroyed during the 2011 military intervention in Libya , there were " increasing concerns over the looting and likely proliferation of these portable defence systems , as well as munitions and mines , highlighting the potential risk to local and regional stability . " In November , a convoy loaded with heavy weaponry was intercepted when trying to cross from Libya into neighboring Niger , according to Nigerien security officials . The officials said the convoy was composed of loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi . Mokhtar Belmokhtar , believed to be one of the leaders of Al - Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , acknowledged that his Al - Qaeda franchise had acquired weaponry from Gaddafi ' s arsenal . Influence of Islamists and foreign powers . In August , Abdelhakim Belhadj was appointed commander of the Tripoli Military Council , a grouping of several brigades of rebels involved in taking the capital . Belhadj was the emir of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group . In 2004 , he was taken into custody by the CIA and rendered to the Libyan government at the time , who held him in the Abu Salim prison for seven years , where he claims to have been subjected to torture . Rival commanders in the uprising complained that Belhadj has close ties to the Qatari monarchy . Ali al - Sallabi , an Islamist cleric , who lived in Doha for four years , was a key conduit for weapons , vehicles and funds from Qatar to the Libyan rebels during the civil war . Rebel commanders outside of Sallabi ' s circle openly complained that they lacked weapons and medical supplies , leading NTC ' s head of government , Mahmoud Jibril , to send an envoy to Doha to lobby for weapons and supplies to be sent through him . But of the 18 plane loads from Qatar , only five were sent through this NTC - approved channel . This led NTC and Western officials to raise concerns that the Qatari seemed to be aiding primarily Islamist leaders at the expense of the NTC . Sallabi , who is well known as an Islamic scholar and orator in Libya , announced the formation of a party based on Islamic principles . The Freedom and Justice Party was also found on such principles . Following the end of Gaddafi ' s rule , there were reports of attacks against sites of Sufi Muslim s . In late 2011 , a Sufi school in Tripoli was stormed by armed men who " burned its library , destroyed office equipment and dug up graves of sages buried there , " and " turned the school into a Salafi mosque . " In August 2012 , several Sufi sites were heavily damaged or destroyed , including the tomb of Abd As - Salam Al - Asmar in Zliten and the mausoleum of Abdullah Al - Sha ' ab in Tripoli . Three United Nations Independent Expert s condemned the destruction of Sufi religious and historic sites in various parts of the country , and Human Rights Watch said the Libyan government had " failed both to protect sites sacred to Libyan Muslims who follow Sufi practices and to arrest those who have destroyed the tombs . " On 26 August , Libyan interior minister Fawzi Abdel A ' al resigned in protest at criticism from the General National Congress over his handling of the violence in the country , though the resignation was subsequently withdrawn . Neighbouring states . In the months following the Libyan uprising , the Sahel region saw thousands of combatants originating from Mali and Niger , mostly ethnic Tuareg who supported either Gaddafi or the NTC , returning from Libya to their respective countries with a wide range of weapons . Mali ' s defence minister , Natie Plea , said that the risk of organizations such as Al - Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQIM ) seizing the arsenal for terrorist purposes was " a real source of concern " for countries in the desert sub - region . The head of the United Nations Office for West Africa stated that the UN also was concerned about the impact of the Libyan crisis on countries in the Sahel . Algeria ' s secret service warned that AQIM had planned a " wave of abductions " of Westerners in the wake of the instability in North Africa following the Arab Spring . On 23 November 2011 , two French nationals were kidnapped in northern Mali . On 25 November 2011 , a Dutchman , a South African and a Swede were abducted and a German citizen killed in a raid in Timbuktu . AQIM claimed responsibility for both of the incidents . British Foreign Secretary William Hague acknowledged that the revolution in Libya had had an impact on the security situation of the Sahel . EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU had earmarked 150 million euros ( $ 200 million ) to support security efforts " covering , as a priority , Mauritania , Mali and Niger . " On 28 November 2011 , Tunisian customs officers stopped three cars at the Ras Ajdir border crossing , two of which carried contraband . Relatives of the smuggler retaliated by burning tires in front of the Ben Gardane town hall , spreading concern in the city and requiring national and regional officials to intervene . On 30 November 2011 , a group of Libyans on the Tunisian side of the border crossing assisted several vehicles loaded with contraband cross into Libya . A Tunisian policeman failed an attempt to stop the vehicles and was attacked and threatened with a firearm , an eyewitness reported . Border police went on strike in protest of the lack of security and the Tunisian Armed Forces decided to close the border crossing indefinitely . The Tunisian foreign ministry voiced " deep concern " over the infringements of the country ' s territorial integrity and urged Libya to increase security at the border post . Abdelhakim Belhadj of the Tripoli Military Council expressed deep regret over the disorder at the Ras Ajdir border crossing and strongly condemned " any attack that violates the sanctity of Tunisian soil . " In mid - January 2012 , the Malian military clashed with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad in Aguelhok , Ménaka , and Tessalit in northern Mali , losing at least one soldier to several Tuareg militants in the process of repulsing the rebels ' attack . In March , the Malian government of Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup by Malian soldiers over its handling of the insurgency in the country . Ultimately , the Malian conflict that began in January , 2012 with the revolt of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad , ended with a signed agreement in June , 2013 with the help of intervening French Armed Forces . Politics . Public protests . By December 2011 , the NTC were facing protests in Benghazi over the pace of reforms and lack of transparency in the new Libyan government . Protesters were criticizing the NTC and its chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil and demanding that former Gaddafi supporters would be excluded from governing posts in the new Libyan state . Jalil called for patience and promised that personal details and official information of all government officials would be published publicly on the Internet in time . On 19 January 2012 , the vice president of the NTC , Abdul Hafiz Ghoga , was surrounded and jostled by a mob of protesters at the University of Benghazi where he was attending a memorial ceremony for those killed during the civil war . He escaped unharmed . Witnesses said the crowd accused him of opportunism due to his belated defection from Gaddafi ' s government . The NTC responded to the incident by saying " every attack or aggression against the National Transitional Council represents an attack on the sovereignty of the Libyan people and its glorious revolution . " On 22 January 2012 , Ghoga resigned from the NTC , saying he did not want the " atmosphere of hatred " to affect the council and its performance . On 21 January 2012 , hundreds of protesters , including many young men wounded from the civil war , stormed the NTC ' s headquarters in Benghazi , protesting the speed of reforms and lack of transparency from the interim government . When the head of the NTC , Mustafa Abdul Jalil , appeared to address the crowd , the protesters began throwing empty plastic bottles at him , prompting security forces to fire tear gas . Before storming the headquarters , protesters threw stones and metal bars at the building , breaking its windows . Jalil is believed to have been pulled to safety after he went back into the building . On 1 July 2012 , protesters calling for an autonomous eastern region stormed the headquarters of the national election commission in Benghazi . Ethnic and tribal reconciliation . During the civil war , many Tuareg nomad tribes in southern Libya supported Gaddafi because of his past support of their people ' s rebellions in Mali and Niger . This led to tensions between Tuareg and Arab Libyans , and in the aftermath of the war , the NTC sent out delegations to mediate disputes and reconcile the region with the interim government . The tribes , who roam Libya ' s vast desert expanses , are important to security in the region ' s remote areas , which are often exploited as a safe haven by drug traffickers and Islamist militants . Fathi Ben Khalifa , president of the World Amazigh Congress , criticized the NTC for not formally recognizing the Berber people , saying that his people is experiencing a " déjà vu feeling " , as Libya ' s rulers also failed to recognize the Berbers when the country gained its independence in 1951 , making way for Gaddafi ' s policies of assimilation . Khalifa claims that the NTC is adhering to " Arab and Islamist " ideologies that caused " much of what has happened in [ Libya ] for the last decades " , and that the council envisions the new Libya being rooted in an exclusively Islamic constitution . According to Khalifa , " no [ Berber ] will accept this situation " . Smaller tribal groups complained they had been neglected in the interim government announced by the NTC on 22 November 2011 . Members of the Benghazi - based Awagi and Maghariba tribes protested that their representatives were not selected for key posts . A group calling itself the Libyan Amazigh Congress called for a suspension of relations with the NTC until it " reconciles with the demands of Amazigh Libyans . " On June 23 , 2013 , the General National Congress elected Nouri Abusahmain , a political independent from the Berber minority , as its new president . Islamic movement . Ali al - Sallabi , a well - known Muslim cleric who played a key role in funneling arms from Qatar to the anti - Gaddafi fighters during the civil war , has announced the formation of a party with the provisional name National Gathering for Freedom , Justice and Development . According to Sallabi , the party is not Islamist , but respects the general principles of Islam and Libyan culture . Sallabi would not oppose Hamas ' armed struggle against Israel and supports the lifting of laws banning polygamy . The party has the backing of the head of the Tripoli Military Council , Abdelhakim Belhadj , as well as " tribal leaders and members of the National Transitional Council " . On 17 November 2011 , the Muslim Brotherhood held its first public conference on Libyan soil in Benghazi after having been banned for decades under Gaddafi ' s government . Suleiman Abdelkader , leader of the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood , said that rebuilding the country " is not a task for one group or one party but for everyone , based on their ability . " He also said his organization would not take part in the interim government . On 9 January 2012 , a group of Libyan Muslim scholars announced the formation of a new Islamist party by the name Party of Reform and Development . A statement from the group said the party was an " Islamist party committed to the principles of Islamic sharia " , aiming to work for establishing a state based on institutions . The chairman of the party , Khaled al - Wershefani , said the group aimed " to focus on national unity and build a Libyan state which is modern , civilized and developed and which does not exclude or marginalize anyone . " He added that the party would refuse to deal with any group which " contradicts sharia , " referring to the secular and liberal factions in Libya . Legislation . The National Transitional Council adopted laws in early May 2012 granting immunity to former rebel fighters for acts committed during the civil war , confiscating all former regime assets , criminalising " praising or glorifying " Muammar Gaddafi or his regime , and barring criticism of the revolution or the authority of the Libyan government . It also decreed that detained fighters must be charged and tried by 12 July 2012 or else released . It was not immediately clear whether the laws would govern the transitional period only or would else be permanent . Law 37 , which prohibits criticism of the revolution and publication of " propaganda " , including vocal support for Gaddafi ' s family or the ideas of the " Green Book " , is reportedly based on provisions of the Gaddafi - era penal code banning criticism of the 1969 coup that brought Gaddafi to power . The law has faced criticism from Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) and other NGOs , and a group of Libyan human rights lawyers has vowed to oppose it before the Supreme Court , HRW said . On 15 June 2012 , the Supreme Court nullified the law . Foreign relations . On 19 October 2011 , the NTC became the first government in the world to recognize the Syrian National Council ( SNC ) as Syria ' s " legitimate authority . " In November , the Libyan authorities met secretly with members of the SNC and offered them money , arms and , potentially , volunteer fighters for the insurgency against the Syrian government . Abdelhakim Belhadj , head of the Tripoli Military Council , met with leaders of the Free Syrian Army to discuss sending Libyan fighters to train the army ' s troops . By December , thousands of refugees fleeing the escalating violence in Syria were seeking shelter in Libya . On 25 November , NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil met with the President of Sudan , Omar al - Bashir , thanking the country for its support of the rebels during the civil war . The Sudanese government supplied the Libyan rebels with arms and ammunition during the uprising . Jalil vowed to establish ties with Sudan in all fields and promised " high - level security cooperation " with the country . On 16 January 2012 , Egypt ' s military ruler Hussein Tantawi arrived on an official visit to Tripoli . Economy . Oil . On 29 December 2011 , Libya ' s National Oil Corporation ( NOC ) announced that the country ' s output of crude oil had risen to over 1 million barrels per day ( bpd ) , compared to 1 . 6 million bpd before the uprising . Libya ' s biggest oil terminal , Es Sider , resumed operations as of January 2012 but may take more than a year to be fully repaired . NOC has said that local crude and product needs are given priority . Of Libya ' s total crude distillation capacity of 378 , 000 bpd , the country ' s five domestic refineries are refining 160 , 000 bpd of current production . Libya ' s largest refinery , Ra ' s Lanuf Refinery , is expected to remain offline until the end of the year . The International Energy Agency said the bulk of repairs to oil infrastructure had been undertaken by local petroleum industry staff , but many of the repairs would have to be performed by foreign specialists working for the international oil companies . Most oil companies have deployed small teams to restart production . NOC said it had taken over full control of marketing Libyan oil , which split during the civil war , and that all future deals would give preference to actors who had shown early support during the uprising . The Libyan interior ministry reported on 3 May 2012 that the oil fields were operating in a normal fashion and the production was good . He added that the production of oil had reached 1 . 55 million barrels per day the previous week , almost pre - war levels . However , by September 2013 , armed groups were blockading oilfields , cutting production to about 100 , 000 barrels per day , leading to some fuel shortages and blackouts . Many in the armed groups were current and former employees of units set up to secure the oilfields , reacting to corruption and low pay . Public funds . At the beginning of the civil war , the UN Security Council froze an estimated $ 150 billion in foreign Libyan assets . By late November 2011 , $ 18 billion had been released to the NTC by the council ' s sanctions committee . $ 3 billion had been made available to the new Libyan government . Meanwhile , demands for wages , medication and reconstruction were putting a strain on Libya ' s limited supply of cash , causing prices to rise . On 10 December 2011 , senior figures in Libya ' s new leadership wrote a letter to the United Nations , urging it to release the frozen assets which they said were " essential for the economic stability of Libya " . Western officials said legal complications prevented the money from being released quickly . A British Foreign Office minister said his administration would release Libyan assets frozen in the United Kingdom once Libyan authorities demonstrated their ability to manage them effectively . On 16 December 2011 , the UN Security Council lifted sanctions on Libya ' s central bank and its offshore subsidiary , Libyan Foreign Bank . Later the same day , the U . S . Treasury Department said it had unblocked more than $ 30 billion in Libyan government assets .