Egypt offers initiative to help end conflict in Libya

CAIRO－Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has announced that Libyan Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh and eastern-based military leader Khalifa Haftar welcomed an initiative by his country to end the military conflict in the neighboring war-torn Libya.

Sisi's announcement on Saturday came after a meeting with the visiting Libyan leaders in Cairo during which they discussed recent developments in the civil war in Libya.

The initiative, dubbed the Cairo Declaration, seeks a cease-fire between warring Libyan parties starting from Monday, a UN-supervised election of a Libyan presidential council and drafting a constitutional declaration to regulate elections at a later stage, Sisi said at a joint news conference with Haftar and Saleh.

Under the initiative, foreign mercenaries would pull out from Libya and militias would dismantle and disarm, so that the Haftar-led Libyan National Army, or LNA, in cooperation with the security apparatus, can take over their security and military responsibilities in the country, Sisi said.

Libya has been locked in a civil war since the ouster and killing of Muammar Gadhafi in 2011.

The situation escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments: the UN-backed Government of National Accord, or GNA, based in the capital Tripoli, and another in the northeastern city of Tobruk allied with Haftar's LNA.

There was no immediate comment from the UN-supported government based in Tripoli, Haftar's rival. But a spokesman for the military forces allied with it said they would continue fighting to capture the city of Sirte, east of Tripoli, which Haftar's forces took in January.

There were no representatives of the Tripoli-based administration, or of its main backers, Turkey and Qatar, at the conference.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy on Saturday dismissed the accusation raised by Egypt over Turkey's role in Libya.

Role of Turkey

"We reject the unfounded accusations of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry against Turkey within the context of Libya in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat DAESH/ISIS Small Group on June 4, 2020," Aksoy said.

The real obstacle to peace in Libya was Khalifa Haftar and his allies including Egypt, he said.

Haftar said on Saturday that Turkish intervention would increase regional and international polarization over Libya and "prolong the conflict". He urged his host, Sissi, to work to force Turkey to withdraw its forces and the mercenaries it has sent.

It remained to be seen what will happen if the GNA turns down Egypt's olive branch. Heavier involvement by Turkey in Libya could propel Egypt to act defensively by getting more involved militarily in Libya.

The initiative seeks to unify and regulate Libyan institutions to be able to perform their duties and guarantee fair and transparent distribution of Libyan resources to all citizens, Sisi said.

"The initiative calls for respecting all relevant UN efforts and initiatives," he said, stressing that the deteriorating security in Libya affected the security of neighboring states regionally and internationally.

Xinhua - Agencies