Once again, Libya is fighting for its life.
This vast country, as far from top to bottom as the distance from London to Libya, is a treasure trove of huge amounts of oil and natural gas.
Agreements to sell this to Britain in particular were proceeding when Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gadaffi was deposed and killed in 2011.
Britain and France participated militarily in his removal, leaving a void at the top, since filled by violent power struggles between warring militias.
This week, forces led by veteran General Khalifa Haftar attacked Tripoli, bombing the airport on the pretext of rooting out terrorists.
Planned peace talks between Haftar and the UN-backed government, intended to lead to a general election, were immediately cancelled.
Complicating the picture, General Haftar’s Libyan National Army already controls much of Eastern and Southern Libya, where he has quelled the extreme jihadist factions which once dominated.
For this, he won temporary support from both Russia and France, though not currently.
Now, the government led by prime minister Fayez al-Serraj is fighting back, but already dozens of civilians have been killed.
The US is pulling out its military support staff, and the UN is warning of war crimes.
Remember, this was once a friendly country bordering the southern shores of the Mediterranean.
Before 2011, Britain educated more Libyan students than any other country, trained their soldiers and was due to benefit from their natural resources, while the rest of Europe depended on an unpredictable Russian pipeline.
It was a sensible attitude and while we may not have approved of Gadaffi’s dictatorship, he kept his unruly nation peaceful and prosperous.
I believe our participation in his downfall has contributed to Libya’s descent into anarchy, whilst also damaging our future energy supplies.
It’s a salutary reminder that military adventures always have unforeseen consequences.