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The Islamist militias are, in turn, supported by Qatar, the oil and gas-rich Gulf state. A conflict that Qatar stands accused of inflaming has now spread from Tripoli and the coastal cities to the desert wastes of southern Libya.

Meanwhile, Britain's other best friend in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates, has lined up behind the non-Islamist forces who oppose Qatar's allies. The UAE and Egypt jointly support a coalition between Libya's elected parliament, which has been ousted from Tripoli and now meets in the city of Tobruk, and a rogue general, Khalifa al-Haftar.

The Islamist militias can also count on the backing of Turkey as well as Qatar. No less than four close allies of Britain have now taken up opposing sides in Libya.

With the fall of Al-Sharara oilfield, the Qatar-backed militias may follow up their success by attempting to seize other centres of Libyan oil production, whose funds currently find their way to all factions in the country's conflict. The Libyan Central Bank, which receives all revenues from oil exports, is already paralysed over competing demands for the distribution of the money.

But even leaving aside the attack on Al-Sharara, this was another disastrous week for Libya, the scene of the Anglo-French intervention in 2011 which helped local rebels to bring down Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Since then, the Western powers have favoured the anti-Islamist block, recognising the elected parliament as Libya's legitimate governing body, even though its members must live on a cruise ship moored off Tobruk.

The Libyan Supreme Court which is still based in Tripoli ruled this parliament to be illegal, noting how it was chosen in June during an election with a turnout of just 20 per cent. Unsurprisingly, the House rejected the judgment, saying it was made under duress thanks to the "force of arms" of the Islamist militias controlling the capital.

But that still leaves Libya torn between two rival assemblies, thanks to a decision by the old parliament, which was dissolved in June's election, to reconvene itself in Tripoli. Each of the opposing parliaments has, in turn, chosen an administration. Libya has duly been landed with two governments. Each side has declared the other to be unconstitutional as the enemies wage a battle for legal legitimacy alongside the struggle for territory.

If this was a sign of Libya's internal turmoil, there was more evidence this week of the failure of outside efforts to help. Britain tried to build up Libya's legal security forces by taking hundreds of militia fighters to Bassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire, where the Army did its best to turn them into proper disciplined soldiers. Now they are all being sent home in disgrace after dozens simply absconded and others were guilty of sexually assaulting local women.

Small wonder that David Cameron has said little about Libya since his triumphant appearance before cheering crowds in Benghazi to celebrate Gaddafi's downfall in 2011.

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How Libya descended into faction-fighting and chaos