After Gaddafi was killed during the 2011 revolution, Libya descended into civil war, splitting the country in half as the Haftar clan took power in the east.The field marshal exercises tight security control in the area he rules and, now Belgacem, one of his six sons, heads a reconstruction programme and appears to be seeking to restore the clan's legitimacy.Following the floods that swept through Derna in 2023, killing nearly 4,000 people, Belgacem became the figurehead for reconstruction efforts in the area.Bridges, apartment blocks, schools and hospitals now rise in eastern Libya, which had long been marginalised under Gaddafi.AFP journalists escorted by the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Haftar saw dozens of construction sites in Benghazi, Derna and Bayda."Gaddafi governed Libya for 42 years, and he did not accomplish what we have in two years," Belgacem, 46, told AFP, seated in an office inside a lavish palace in Benghazi.The oil-rich country remains divided between a UN-recognised government based in its capital, Tripoli, and the eastern administration in Benghazi backed by the Haftars.The reconstruction fund was established in 2024 to rebuild Derna with a budget of some $2 billion at the time, before expanding into the Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund.ShowcaseEastern Libya and most of the country's south are firmly controlled by Haftar and his sons.Saddam Haftar, widely seen as his heir apparent, serves as deputy commander of the LNA, while another son, Khaled, is chief of staff.Libya holds Africa's largest oil reserves at around 48.4 billion barrels, and areas controlled by the family contain most of the oil fields and export terminals.