Divide and Conquer: Trump’s deputy aide proposes to split Libya into three parts

Libya has been in state of a civil war since its longtime leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown in 2011. (Photo: OCHA/ Wikipedia)

MOSCOW–Sebastian Gorka, a White House Deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, proposed that Libya be partitioned and at one point drew the suggested divisions on a napkin during a meeting with a senior European official, The Guardian reported Monday, citing sources.

The Guardian has learned that Gorka proposed to partition Libya in the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration in January. The newspaper further reported that the deputy aide specifically suggested the country be divided into three areas based on three old Ottoman provinces: Cyrenaica in the east, Tripolitania in the north-west and Fezzan in the south-west.

According to The Guardian, the European official responded that the idea would be “the worst solution” for the North African country.

Libya has been in state of a civil war since its longtime leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown in 2011. Since then, political power in the country has been split between two rival governments: the Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress. Following the signing of a UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement in December 2015, a Government of National Accord has been established in the county and started its work in late March 2016.