A decade after fierce battles reduced much of the University of Benghazi to rubble, students at Libya’s oldest and largest university are once again looking to the future with optimism.
After the 2011 uprisings that toppled and killed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, the university, founded in 1955, became the stage for intense fighting between jihadist groups and forces led by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Today, its nearly 70,000 students still attend classes in temporary facilities while a brand-new vast campus is set to open in the autumn.