Libya on the brink

Hopes for the UN's unity government are fading, IS is capitalising on the chaos, renewing its assault on energy infrastructure, and the drumbeat for Western intervention is getting louder

A UN-appointed Government of National Accord (GNA) waits in the wings, but genuine unity and security for Libya remain only a distant hope. Fresh attacks by Islamic State (IS) on two oil-export terminals, persistent efforts by the east to win control of the country's energy sector and ever-deepening factionalism mean events on the ground continue to trump diplomacy. Oil production of 400,000 b/d, a quarter of capacity, looks likelier to fall further than to recover. IS' assault on Ras Lanuf and Es-Sider on 5 January showed, again, the group's ability to strike with impunity in the oil crescent. Nine men from the Petroleum Facilities (PFG) were killed in the suicide-bomb attack. Five storage