It was another weekend of chaos and violence in Libya, as the country’s second civil war continues. Though Libya has been largely out of Western headlines since NATO helped topple former dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, peace never truly returned to the North African nation.

After years of skirmishing and political manoeuvring, outright warfare returned to Libya last year. Today, the internationally recognized central government is working out of hotel rooms and rented houses in the eastern city of Bayda, while the official capital, Tripoli, along with the western part of the country, is controlled by an uneasy coalition of Islamists and ethnic militias. Calling Libya a failed state is something of an understatement. There is no effective national government; the military is fighting its own private wars; what little economy the country has is highly dependent on oil production, and the price of oil has crashed. Thousands have fled their homes or tried to leave the country. All of this represents a terrible tragedy in human suffering and wasted opportunity. But the real danger may only be settling in now — which is why the West, particularly our allies in Europe, are suddenly paying attention to Libya once more.

Earlier this month, ISIS terrorists butchered 21 Egypitan Coptic Christians on a Mediterranean beach, and boasted that the group would soon be able to operate in the “southern crusader states” across the sea. “We will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission,” the video’s narrator said. Conquering Rome aside, the threat is real. Libya has an enormous shoreline along the long-peaceful Mediterranean. If ISIS establishes a presence there, there is plenty of opportunity for chaos. Cruise ships could be attacked and commerce disrupted if Libya becomes what some experts have warned will be a “Somalia on the Mediterranean.” ISIS has also boasted of its plans to insert its fighters into southern Europe aboard the migrant smuggling ships that carry hundreds of thousands to the continent each year — and that, until now, the Europeans have shown little real interest in stopping.

Italy, at least, seems to be changing its tune. It has deployed troops in Rome to safeguard high-value targets and is considering steps to guard its coasts. But this is not a problem for Italy alone. All of Europe is vulnerable to the threat spilling out of the Middle East. Finding a way to stabilize Libya and shore up its government(s) will not be an easy task. But it may be the best way to keep Europe safe.