Sisi meets Libyan strongman Haftar in Cairo
CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al- Sisi met with Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, whose forces are fighting for control of the capital Tripoli, state media reported.
They ‘are discussing the latest developments in Libya’ at the presidential palace in Cairo, state newspaper Al Ahram said.
Sisi has been an ardent supporter of Haftar’s forces, which control swathes of eastern Libya and launched an offensive on April 4 to take the capital.
Fighting near Tripoli has killed 121 people and wounded 561, the World Health Organisation said.
Haftar has defied international calls to halt his battle against fighters loyal to the UN- backed Government of National Accord based in Tripoli.
Earlier this month, Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry cautioned that the conflict could not be solved militarily.
His remarks came at a Cairo press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who also called for a political solution among all sides in Libya.
The Libyan commander has modelled his political style of authoritarian leadership after Sisi, himself an army general turned president.
Egypt has provided funding and arms to his Libyan National Army, seeing him as a bulwark against Islamist militants.
Haftar, who was exiled in the United States for two decades, returned to Libya in 2011 when the revolution erupted, commanding forces that eventually toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi. — AFP