Leader of defeated forces accepts Libya peace deal
Libyan strongman Khalifa Hifter accepted an Egyptian-sponsored cease-fire and a political initiative to end the war he launched more than a year ago to seize the capital, Tripoli.
The step was announced Saturday at a ceremony in Cairo attended by Hifter, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Libyan parliament speaker Aguileh Saleh. The details of the deal were reported earlier by Bloomberg.
The peace initiative comes after a round of meetings in the Egyptian capital and a day after forces loyal to the internationally backed government in Tripoli took over Hifter’s remaining stronghold in western Libya, effectively defeating his self-styled Libyan National Army. But those forces still control the east and south of the oil-rich North African state. Hifter has been supported by Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord would agree to the cease-fire, which el-Sisi said would begin Monday. Its forces reached the outskirts of the central coastal city of Sirte on Saturday, and have said they plan on retaking Hifter’s Juffra base in central Libya.
A cease-fire could open the door for more oil production in Libya, which is home to Africa’s largest reserves. Output has dropped more than 1 million barrels a day since Hifter’s supporters blockaded facilities in the east in mid-January, a move that had the inadvertent effect of helping OPEC+ balance the market. A key valve controlling the pipeline linking Libya’s largest oil field, Sharara, was reopened Friday.
An adviser to the Tripoli-based government reiterated the official position that Hifter can’t be part of a post-conflict political solution, and asserted the Government of National Accord’s right to all Libyan territory.
“There is no deadline for achieving stability and total control over Libyan soil, and we hope to achieve that goal without extending the military operations further,” Mohammed Ali Abdallah, the government adviser for U.S. affairs, said in a statement.
Talks between the sides are unlikely until the government’s front lines have stabilized, and “that is only likely to happen if there is a strong deterrent against further advances, in the form of airstrikes by Russia, Egypt or the UAE,” said Wolfram Lacher, a Libya expert at the German SWP think tank.
Hifter has resisted previous long-term cease-fires, refusing to sign a deal in January at a meeting hosted by Russia. But his defeat in the west at the hands of Libyan government forces backed by Turkey has left him little choice but to accept the political initiative proposed by Saleh, whose eastern-based parliament is allied with Hifter. Saleh had opposed an attempt by Hifter last month to assume total control of the east, widening a rift between the two. Egypt had mediated an agreement between them over the past week.
Saleh’s initiative proposes a smaller presidential council in Tripoli to reform the one headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, with members chosen by electoral colleges from Libya’s east, west and south.