When longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi's government collapsed in 2011, many Libyans looked to affluent and booming Dubai as an example of what the future could hold.

Three years later, they fear a "failed state" status, as the North African nation suffers political chaos and lawlessness. It is awash in weapons and at the mercy of militias.

On Oct 23, 2011, three days after Gadhafi was captured and killed, transitional authorities announced the "total liberation" of Libya in a declaration from the eastern city of Benghazi, the birthplace of the eight-month conflict.