“WELCOME to Benghazi, birthplace of the Libyan revolution,” declares the sign on the runway of its ramshackle airport. Visitors may be forgiven for not taking the words at face value. Three years after the uprising that began in Libya’s second city, the city is being pulled in several directions—not all of them backwards.

Grim aspects are plain to see, especially the city’s lack of security. It often echoes to the sound of gunfire and explosions. Earlier this month a hairdresser’s shop and a café were bombed. There has been a spate of assassinations. Recent victims have included not just members of the security forces, who are often targeted, but Egyptian labourers, a French engineer and a much-loved local poet famous for publicly reciting his work during the revolution. A Turkish manager is pulling out his staff. “They are terrified,” he says. “It is not worth the risk.”

The security vacuum has led to the rise of extreme Islamist groups flying the black flag of jihad over mosques and streets in some of the city’s rougher districts and painting it on walls. American drones are often seen and heard over the city.

Yet Benghazians have a good story to tell, too. Their economy has bounced back. Neglected under Muammar Qaddafi’s 42-year rule, businesses and buildings are springing up. A new shopping mall is packed with families buying clothes and cosmetics from shops with European franchises. People sip cappuccinos in trendy cafés. A once-drab road known as Venice Street hosts scores of ebullient retailers selling international brands. Cranes dot the city’s skyline.

“Benghazi is booming,” says a native businessman, smiling at his pun. Passenger numbers arriving at its rudimentary airport have doubled to 2m a year. Many of those flying in are from Libya’s diaspora, whose financial clout has helped resurrect private business. Others are potential foreign investors eyeing opportunities in Libya’s oil-rich eastern region. Plans are under way for a free-trade zone on the city’s outskirts. Local optimists reckon grandiosely that Benghazi could be not just Libya’s economic capital but also a trade hub between Europe and the rest of Africa.

But that all depends on security. If the city stays dangerous, such fine hopes will surely be dashed.