Libya’s two sides declare cease-fire

Skepticism exists over if it will stick

CAIRO — Libya’s two rival governments separately announced a ceasefire Friday and called for a demilitarized zone in the strategic city of Sirte, a decision welcomed by regional neighbors and Western powers as a potential step toward peace in the war-torn North African nation.

But plenty of skepticism remained as Fayez Serraj, head of the U.N.backed government in Tripoli, and Aguila Saleh, speaker of a rival easternbased government, made their apparently coordinated announcements, which also urged the resumption of Libya’s oil production and a political process paving the way for elections.

Numerous cease-fire declarations have occurred since the oil-rich nation fell into turmoil after the ouster and killing of Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi during the 2011 Arab Spring revolution and NATO intervention. All failed, and Libya experienced more conflict.

As of Friday evening, Khalifa Hifter, an eastern commander who launched an offensive against the Libyan capital last year and whose forces control Sirte as well as the country’s major oil terminals, had not publicly accepted Friday’s cease-fire declarations.

“How quickly confidence-building measures or any tangible progress toward demilitarizing Sirte begins will be the real measure of its significance,” tweeted Tarek Megerisi, a Libya analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, referring to the cease-fire. Mr. Aguila and Mr. Serraj, he added, “are experts at having a process for the sake of a process, cooperating only to blunt all progress.”

But at a time when Libya is in the grips of the Middle East’s biggest proxy war and a battle over Sirte threatens to bring more chaos, the United Nations, Libya’s neighbors and Western powers embraced the declarations by the two rivals.

“The two initiatives have created hope for forging a peaceful political solution to the long-standing Libyan crisis, a solution that will affirm the desire of the Libyan people to live in peace and dignity,” said Stephanie Williams, acting head of the U.N.’s Mission in Libya.

The U.S. Embassy to Libya also welcomed the cease-fire agreement, calling it “an important step to all Libyans,” as did European powers such as Germany and Italy.

Perhaps most significantly, Egypt and Turkey welcomed the decision. Both nations have militarily supported rival sides, raising concerns in recent weeks that two U.S. allies could end up fighting each other in Libya. “This is an important step on the road to achieving a political settlement,” Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a tweet Friday.

The cease-fire agreement comes after more than a year of chaos and insecurity that have transformed Libya into a global battleground. Mr. Hifter, who is aligned with the eastern government, sought to overthrow the western-based Tripoli government in April 2019, only to see his forces get bogged down in a military stalemate in the capital for months.