Only opponent’s death will end civil war, says minister in Un-backed government
Libya’s civil war will go on as long as Gen Khalifa Haftar is alive, a powerful figure in the Unrecognised government fighting the renegade commander has said.
Fathi Bashagha, the interior minister in the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), said neither side could achieve battlefield victory in the ongoing civil war and that a political solution to the crisis was inevitable.
But he added: “There has to be hope. But it is difficult with Haftar because we know that if there is a ceasefire and a dialogue, that would be the end of Haftar. It would be like suicide for him.“
Asked if that logically meant the GNA would have to wait for Haftar, 77, to die, he said: “Yes. That’s what we are waiting for. We have no other solution.” Mr Bashagha, a former fighter pilot, took over the GNA’S interior ministry in early 2018 with a brief to rein in the melange of autonomous militias that had divided Tripoli into independent fiefdoms.
But his influence goes well beyond his home affairs brief. He frequently travels to high-level summits alongside Fayez Sarraj, the prime minister, and is a key point of contact with many foreign governments. Some consider him a potential future prime minister.
His comments underscore the difficulties faced by UN diplomats trying to prevent the war spinning out of control.
Renewed fighting broke out on the southern outskirts of Libya yesterday, killing at least one woman and injuring four other civilians. The violence came a day after the UN security council approved a British-drafted resolution calling for full compliance with the arms embargo and outlining a 55-point peace plan.
The resolution is aimed at countries like the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Russia and France, which have provided economic and military support to Gen Haftar, and Turkey and to a lesser extent Qatar, which has shipped weapons to the GNA.
Luigi Di Maio, the Italian foreign minister, visited Gen Haftar in Benghazi yesterday in a bid to secure a ceasefire. He earlier held talks with Mr Serraj and Mr Bashagha.
Speaking last week, Mr Bashagha said the only chance for diplomacy to succeed would be if the US and Britain pressure Gulf states like the UAE to stop backing Gen Haftar.
But he defended Turkey’s intervention in the war, saying European countries had only “themselves to blame” after they ignored appeals from the GNA last year.
“Previously, we were dealing with the British and US security people. We had some co-operation in the fight against terrorism,” Mr Bashaga said. “But after the attack by Haftar on April 4, they left the country. They left us alone in the fight against Haftar.”