Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter jumps on peace wagon as tide turns

Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has announced a unilateral initiative to end the civil war in neighbouring Libya.

GNA fighters enter the town of Tarhouna on Saturday. Picture: AFP

Egypt’s President has announced a unilateral initiative to end the civil war in neighbouring Libya, a plan that was accepted by Khalifa Hifter, commander of the eastern forces that have suffered heavy losses in recent weeks.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said in Cairo on Saturday night that his initiative included a ceasefire starting on Monday and was meant to pave the way for elections in oil-rich Libya.

“There can be no stability in Libya unless peaceful means to the crisis are found that include the unity and integrity of the ­national institutions,” Mr Sissi said. “The initiative could be a new start in Libya.”

However, a spokesman for the military forces of the rival UN-supported government based in Tripoli said they would continue fighting to capture the city of Sirte, which Field Marshal Hifter’s troops took in January.

Mohamed Gnono said Tripoli-allied forces on Saturday took control of the town of al-Washka east of the port city of Misrata. “We did not start this war, but it is we who will determine when and where it will end,” he said.

The conference in Cairo was attended by Marshal Hifter and several foreign diplomats, including US, Russian, French and Italian envoys. There were no representatives of the Tripoli-based administration, or of its main backers, Turkey and Qatar.

Egypt’s initiative comes on the heels of Marhal Hifter’s losses in western Libya and his failure to seize Tripoli in an offensive he launched in April last year.

It was yet to be seen whether the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord will press eastwards to seize control of the vital oil installations, terminals and fields that tribes allied with Marshal Hifter shut down earlier this year. The shutdown paralysed the country’s major source of income.

Mr El-Sissi’s plan also comes amid the backdrop of US warnings against Russia’s “fanning the flames” of the conflict, saying that it could deploy its own forces in Tunisia to deter the Russians from destabilising North Africa. It also remained to be seen what will happen if the GNA turns down Egypt’s olive branch. Heavier ­involvement by Turkey in Libya could propel Egypt to get more ­involved militarily in Libya.

The chaos in Libya has worsened in recent months as foreign backers increasingly intervene, despite pledges to the contrary at a peace summit in Berlin earlier this year.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011 when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed.

AP