Los Angeles Times

Libya's 2 wars: One on the battlefield and one on Facebook

TRIPOLI, Libya - In terms of its effect on the battlefield, a drone that fell from the skies one recent morning in an area south of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, was a nonevent. It was unarmed. When it crashed (or was shot down; it's still unclear), it left behind no casualties.

But by the evening, the drone was the subject of thousands of impassioned Facebook duels dissecting its origin. And a video examining its hull became the grist for dozens of reports by satellite news broadcasters across the region.

The aftermath of the incident was just another sign that in Libya there are two concurrent wars: One involves bullets and bombs fired between the self-styled Libyan National Army and militiamen allied with the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord in

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