List of wars involving Libya

(1645-1669)

• Ottoman Tripolitania
• Ottoman Tunis
• Regency of Algiers^[1]

• Maniots

• Crete conquered by the Ottoman Empire
• Venetian gains in Dalmatia

• Moroccan and Tunisian forces routed^[2]
• Very minor, or no changes

Ottoman Tripolitania

Ottoman Tunisia

(1790–1795)

Tripolitania

(1801–1815)

Algiers
Tripolitania
Morocco^[3](1802–1804)

United States
Sweden (1800–1802)
Sicily^[4] (1801–1805)

(1801–1805)

United States
Sweden^[7]
 Sicily^[8][9]

• The United States paying ransom
• Tripolitania ships allowed to inspect American ships
• Freeing prisoners of American ships

Tripolitania

 Sardinia

• Sardinia Destroyed two tripolitanian ships
• Tripolitanian soldiers routed
• Peace treaty concluded^[10]

Ottoman Tripolitania

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

• Italy gains Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and the Dodecanese Islands

(1911)

• Italian annexation of Libya

(1911–1917)

 Italy

United Kingdom

• Libyan resistance put down

(1923–1932)

 Italy

• Stabilization of Italian rule in Libya

(1940–1943)

Allies
British Empire

•  United Kingdom
•  India
• Australia ^[11]
•  New Zealand
• Transjordan
•  Newfoundland^[12]
• Libyan Arab Force

United States^[a]
Free France

• Algeria^[a]
• Tunisia^[a]
• Morocco^[a]

Australia ^[11]
 South Africa
 Poland
 Greece
 Czechoslovakia

Axis
 Italy

•  Libya

 Germany

• Algeria^[b]
• Tunisia^[b]
• Morocco^[b]

Allied victory

• Italian Libya placed under British and French military administration

Arab Federation (1958)

•  Iraq
• Jordan

Federation of Arab Republics
Arab Islamic Republic

United Arab States (1958–1961)

• United Arab Republic
• Kingdom of Yemen

• Decline of pan-Arabism and Nasserism after the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser
• Rise of Wahhabism, Salafi jihadism, and Islamism after the death of Nasser
• International propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism in several countries financed with Saudi oil exports
• Beginning of the 1969 Somali coup d'état, establishing the Somali Democratic Republic
• Creation of Gulf Cooperation Council
• Failed attempts of an Arab Union:
  • Arab Federation
  • United Arab Republic
  • United Arab States
  • Federation of Arab Republics
  • United Arab Kingdom
  • Union of Arab Republics
  • Arab Islamic Republic
• Successful attempts of an Arab Union:
  • Unity of nine Arab emirates to form UAE
  • Yemeni unification

Libya
FLN

France

• French forces withdraw from the region

• Overthrow and abolition of the Monarchy
• Establishment of Libyan Arab Republic
• Start of Muammar Gaddafi's rule

(1955-1972)

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
(1955–1956)
Republic of the Sudan
(1956–1969)
Democratic Republic of the Sudan
(1969–1972)
Combat support:
Uganda
(Joint operations on Ugandan territory, 1965–1969)^[15]
Libyan Arab Republic
(From 1969 and combat involvement at least in 1970)^[16]
Non-combat support:
United Arab Republic^[16][17]
Soviet Union^[18][17]
United Kingdom^[17][19]
China^[17][19]
Yugoslavia^[17][19]
East Germany^[17][19]
Czechoslovakia^[19]
Saudi Arabia^[19]
Kingdom of Libya (until 1969)^[19]
Algeria^[19]
United States^[20]
West Germany^[20]

SDF mutineers, bandits, and unaffiliated separatist militias
ALF (1965–1970)
Anyanya (from 1963)^[21]
Israel (from 1969)^[22][23][24]
Supported by:
Ethiopia^[25][26]
Uganda (from about 1970)^[25][23]
Congo-Léopoldville^[27]
Kenya^[25]
France^[28]

• Addis Ababa Agreement

(1972)^[30]

 Uganda
 Libya
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

Ugandan rebels

• People's Army
• UPC supporters

Tanzania

• Invasion by Obote loyalists repelled

(1976)

• Syrian Arab Republic
• Saudi Arabia
• Sudan
• United Arab Emirates
• Libya
• South Yemen

• Libyan forces essentially abandoned^[31]
• Eventual termination of ADF mandate

(1977)

Libya

(1978–1979)

 Uganda
 Libya
 Palestine Liberation Organization
Supported by:
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia

• Collapse of the Second Republic of Uganda

(1978–1987)

Libya

• Islamic Legion^[32]

Pro-Libyan Chadian factions

• FROLINAT
• GUNT (1979–1986)
• Codos (1983–1986)
• FAP (1978–1986)

Pro-Libyan Palestinian and Lebanese groups^[33]

• PLO (1987)^[34][35]
• Abu Nidal Organization^[33]

Anti-Libyan Chadian factions

• FAT (1978–1979)
• FAN (1978–1983)
• FANT (1983–1987)
• GUNT (1986–1987)

France
Inter-African Force

• Zaire
• Nigeria
• Senegal

NFSL

• Chad regains control of the Aouzou Strip.

(1986)

Libya

United States

• Ground targets destroyed^[40]
• Failed assassination attempt against Gaddafi^[41]
• Failed Libyan Scud missile response
• Libya renamed from Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

(1986–1988)

Sudan

• Armed Forces
• PDF
• Army of Peace
• Muraheleen
• Ex-FAR and Interahamwe^[42]

SSDF
SPLA dissidents

• SPLA-Nasir
• SPLA-United^[43]
• SSIM/A

Nuer White Army
Ugandan insurgents:

• LRA^[44]
• WNBF^[45]
• UNRF (II)^[45]

Iraq^[d]
China^[e]

Non-combat aid:
Iran^{[51][page needed]}

SPLA

• SPLA-Mainstream^[43]
• SPLA-Agar
• SPDF
• ALF
• Titweng^[52]

SSLM
NDA
Sudanese Alliance Forces^[53]
Anyanya II
Eastern Coalition
Derg (until 1987)^[54]
PDR Ethiopia (1987–1988)^[54]
Non-combat aid:
Libya (1983–1985)^[55][56]
Israel^[57]
Cuba (until 1991)^[58]

• Libyan withdrawal in 1988
• 2011 referendum and independence of the Republic of South Sudan

Libya
DR Congo
 Chad
 Namibia
 Zimbabwe

Rwanda
 Burundi
 Uganda

(2008)

Libya

Toubou Front for the Salvation of Libya

(2011)

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Anti-Gaddafi forces

Qatar

NATO

• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Denmark
• France
• Greece
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Norway^[59]
• Poland (only humanitarian and medical aid)^[60]
• Romania
• Spain
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States

Minor border clashes:
Tunisia

• Tunisian Army
• Tunisian Police

Supported by:
 Egypt^[63][64]

• Complete overthrow and collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
• Killing of Muammar Gaddafi and end of his rule over Libya on 20 October 2011
• Start and continuation of the Libyan Crisis
• Assumption of interim control by National Transitional Council; remained in power until August 8, 2012
• UN authorisation of NATO led military intervention
• Diplomatic recognition of NTC as sole governing authority for Libya by 105 countries, UN, EU, AL and AU
• Factional violence in the aftermath of the war leading to another civil war in 2014

• Airstrikes on IS positions in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Nigeria and Afghanistan
• Multinational humanitarian efforts
• Arming and supporting local ground forces
• Millions of civilians in Iraq and Syria flee their homes, sparking a refugee crisis
• Terrorist attacks in Paris (Jan 2015 and Nov 2015), Brussels (Mar 2016) and many other places
• Thousands of civilians executed by IS forces in Iraq and Syria
• IS controlled around 40% of Iraq at its peak in mid-2014^[72]
• IS controlled around 50% of Syria by late May 2015^[73][74]
• Emergence of independently-governed Kurdish regions
• IS military defeated and lost all of its territory in Libya in December 2017^[75][76]
• Boko Haram loses territory, but its insurgency continues^[77]
• IS controlled 5.67% of Syria's land by November 2017^[78] and around 3% of Iraq by October 2017^[79]
• IS loses all territory in Iraq and most territory in Syria in December 2017^[80]
• IS loses all remaining territory in Syria in March 2019^[81]

(2014–2020)

• Libyan National Army^[84][85]
•  Libyan Air Force
  (LNA–aligned)
•  Libyan Navy
  (LNA–aligned)

Wagner Group
(from 2018)
^{[93][94][95][96][97]}
Egypt^{[98][99][100]}
United Arab Emirates^{[98][101][102][103]}
RSF^[104] (from 2019)
Ba'athist Syria
(2020)^{[105][106][107]}
Hezbollah (allegedly)^[108][109]
Israel
(allegedly, denied by LNA)^{[110][111][112][113][114]}
Iran ^[115]

Government of National Accord (Tripoli-based) (from 2016)

•  Libyan Ground Forces
•  Libyan Air Force
  (GNA–aligned)
•  Libyan Navy^[134]
  (GNA–aligned)

Turkey (2020)^{[143][144][145]}
Syrian National Army (from 2019)^[146]
Popular Resistance Committees^[147][148]
Hamas (LNA claim, denied by Hamas)^[149]

National Salvation Government
(2014–2017)^[165][166]

• Libya Shield Force^[167]
• LROR^[167]
• Libyan National Guard^{[168][169][170]}

Islamic State
(from 2014)^[175]

• Wilayat Barqa^[176][177]
• Wilayat Tarabulus^[178]
• Wilayat Fezzan^[178]

• Permanent ceasefire ratified on 23 October 2020
• LNA failed to conquer Tripoli
• Government of National Unity formed on 10 March 2021
• Continued Libyan Crisis