Egypt’s role in the fight against Daesh
Italy is pushing a new diplomatic strategy that will be put to the test at an international conference in Rome today
The “other” front line in the war against Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is in Libya. An ongoing civil war has created fertile ground for the terror group to expand four years after the fall of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Settling differences between two rival governments in the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Tobruk is key to shutting down the rapid expansion of Daesh in the North African country.
A lasting solution to the conflict between the internationally recognised government in the east — supported by Egypt — and the Qatar-backed parliament in Tripoli is critical to tackling the increasing terror threat.
Along with the United States, Italy is pushing a new diplomatic strategy that will be put to the test today at an international conference in Rome on the Libyan crisis. Diplomats have made it a priority to bring Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi into the fold. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni have invited at least 15 countries to participate in the talks, which the Barack Obama administration plans to model on the recent Syrian peace talks in Vienna. Ahead of the meeting, the United Nations called on world leaders to contribute more than $160 million (Dh588.48 million) to help Libya recover from years of conflict, it was reported last Thursday.
Among the countries invited to today’s summit are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China — as well as Italy, Germany and Spain. Representatives of seven Middle Eastern and North African countries — Algeria, Tunisia, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco and the UAE — will also be present in Rome, along with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and UN Special Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler.
The goal is to arrive at an international consensus around a UN peace plan to establish a united government supported by both parliaments — to be based in Tripoli, and led by a member of the government in Tobruk.
Though representatives of Libya’s warring parliaments recently reached their own peace agreement at a meeting in Tunis, months after rejecting the UN-backed deal, it is not clear if the deal will stick. The Tunis agreement calls for the two sides to establish a committee to nominate a prime minister and another to review the constitution, before holding elections.
Cairo’s role
Washington and Rome are betting that the urgent need to face the stronger Daesh presence in Sirte, Libya, will accelerate the peace process to end the civil war between the militias in Tripoli and the government in Tobruk.
Though the Pentagon confirmed reports last week that Libya’s top Daesh leader Abu Nabeel was killed during a US air strike last month, the group continues to expand. Diplomatic sources note that any lasting solution will require an accord between Qatar and Egypt, the primary foreign backers of the two sides.
Cairo is concerned that placing the national unity government in Tripoli would give excessive influence to the militias that control the capital. Instead, Egyptian diplomats have proposed a “third location” for the new government, somewhere in Libya or perhaps even abroad.
Al Sissi is pursuing closer ties with Russia and the Tobruk government has taken notice, with some members advocating a Russian intervention modelled on President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Syria. Moscow hasn’t had a military role in Libya since 2011, when it was expelled after a Nato air campaign led to the collapse of Gaddafi’s regime.
“Egypt’s priority is to maintain the role of General Khalifa Haftar’s forces in Tobruk,” says a source in Cairo. “They consider him indispensable to protecting Egypt from [extremist] infiltration.”
Italy also recognises Moscow’s key role in negotiations on the Libyan crisis, which Gentiloni discussed in a recent meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. As for Italy’s European allies, the UK and France support the US-Italian peace initiative in Rome, but British sources stress that a military option to strike Daesh bases in Libya must remain on the table.
Air strikes in Libya, potentially bolstered by special forces to carry out targeted operations against bases and leaders, would extend the anti-Daesh campaign already underway in Syria and Iraq. In the best-case scenario, the negotiators in Rome will have learned from the mistakes made in Syria and be sure they are not repeated in Libya.
Maurizio Molinari is a journalist on Italian daily newspaper La Stampa.
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