Libya (History) was occupied by British and French troops. Cyrenaica and Tripolitania were governed by the United Kingdom

Libya - History

Formerly an Italian Colony, Libya was occupied in 1942 by British and French troops. Cyrenaica and Tripolitania were governed by the United Kingdom, while Fezzan was administered by France.

Following an UN resolution in 1949, the country attained independence, as the United
Kingdom of Libya on 24 December 1951.

Muhammad Idris as-Sanusi, Amir of Cyrenaica, became King Idris of Libya. The country enjoyed Internal political stability and generally had good relations with both the Arab world and the West.

The King was deposed in the bloodless revolution of September 1969. The perpetrators of the coup, a group of young nationalist army officers, established a Revolution Command Council (RCC), with Col Muammar al-Qaddafi as Chairman, and proclaimed the Libyan Arab Republic.

In 1970, following agreements with the new regime, British and US military personnel were withdrawn from Libyan bases. In June 1971 the Arab Socialist Union (ASU) was established as the Libya´s sole political party.

In March 1977 the General People Congress (GPC) endorsed constitutional changes recommended by Qaddafi under which the official name of the country was changed to the Socialist People´s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Relations with Egypt, already tense following the failure of the Libya-Egypt union, further deteriorated when President Sadat launched the October 1973 war against Israel without consulting Qaddafi. Relations with Egypt remained strained, and in July 1977 armed clashes took place in the border area. Libya objected very strongly to Sadat´s peace initiative with Israel in November, and hosted a summit for Arab states that opposed the initiative.

Libya also strongly condemned the proposals for Middle East peace that were agreed by other Arab states in Fez, Morocco, in September 1982. None the less, in the 1990s Egypt and Libya sustained a close relationship, with Egypt acting an intermediary between Libya and Western nations, and Libya providing economic opportunity for Egyptians.

In October 1986 Libya transferred its support from the rebels in Chad led by Goukouni to those belonging to another opposition faction. During the next year intense fighting took place for control of north-western Chad. In August 1987 President Habre´s forces advanced into the "Aozou strip" and occupied the town of Aozou.

Libya responded by bombing towns in northern Chad, and recaptured Aozou. In September Chadian forces destroyed an airbase 100 km inside Libya (claimed to be a base for Libyan raids on Chad).

Later in September Chad and Libya agreed to observe a cease-fire proposed by the OAU. In October 1988 Libya and Chad restored diplomatic relations, although the question of sovereignty over the disputed region remained unresolved.

In August 1989, with Algerian mediation, Chad and Libya concluded an agreement to attempt to resolve the dispute over sovereignty of the "Aozou strip" through a political settlement. In early June Libya and Chad concluded a treaty of friendship, neighbourly terms and co-operation.

In September Libya re-established "fraternal" links with Iraq, modifying its support for Iran in the Iran-Iraq War and urging the observance of a cease-fire. In the same month Jordan restored its diplomatic relations with Libya.