Rival Libyan forces to sign ceasefire deal in Moscow

Fayez al-Sarraj and his Libyan rival, Khalifa Haftar, are expected to sign a ceasefire agreement in Moscow on Monday.

Fighters loyal to the GNA on a rooftop in Tripoli. Picture: AFP

The head of Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord Fayez al-Sarraj and his rival, strongman Khalifa Haftar, are expected to sign a ceasefire agreement in Moscow on Monday night.

A fragile ceasefire began in the oil-rich North African country at midnight on Sunday after months in which foreign military intervention intensified a civil war that has raged on Europe’s doorstep.

The signing of the ceasefire agreement will pave the way for the revival of the political process, said Libya’s head of High Council of State Khaled al-Mechri on the country’s al-Ahrar TV channel.

Mr Sarraj on Monday called on Libyans to “turn the page on the past” as he prepared to sign the agreement.

Marshal Haftar, who has waged a renegade military campaign since 2014, launched an offensive in April last year to capture Tripoli, which is held by the GNA and its allied armed groups.

Both sides separately announced a ceasefire. If it holds, the pause in hostilities would provide relief to Libyans after fighting that has left more than 2200 people dead, according to the UN. A ­series of crises in Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 has also transformed the country into a pathway for migration to Europe, while allowing Islamic State to establish a foothold.

Underscoring the tensions, the Tripoli government accused Marshal Haftar’s forces of violating the truce just hours after it became effective by attacking its paramilitary forces near Tripoli.

The declared pause in fighting came after Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a ceasefire following a meeting on Saturday in Moscow. Mr Putin and Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also issued a joint call for a truce after a meeting last Wednesday.

The ceasefire isn’t expected to change the overall dynamic of the crisis in Libya, where fighting reached a crescendo in recent weeks as foreign states ramped up military support for both sides of the conflict in recent months.

Turkey’s government decided to send forces to support the Tripoli government earlier this month.

Separately, Russian military contractors from a Kremlin-linked company are fighting alongside Marshal Haftar’s forces.

Mr Putin acknowledged for the first time on Saturday that the contractors are deployed in Libya, but said they don’t represent the Russian state. The Turkish and Russian deployments show how foreign intervention in the war is becoming more conspicuous despite a UN arms embargo that forbids all weapons transfers to Libya.

UN investigators have also found that the United Arab Emirates has provided Marshal Haftar with air power, providing a critical edge in a conflict where both sides are poorly armed and undermanned. The Tripoli government has accused the UAE of carrying out recent airstrikes in the capital, including an attack on a migrant detention centre in July that killed more than 50 people.

The assault on Tripoli by Marshal Haftar, who is based in Libya’s east, intensified in recent weeks as his forces conducted airstrikes that killed and injured civ­ilians, according to the UN. Another airstrike on a military academy in Tripoli killed at least 28 people on January 5.

Marshal Haftar’s forces claimed a success after months in which they failed in their attempt at a decisive attack on Tripoli, claiming control on January 6 over the city of Sirte, Gaddafi’s birthplace. The Tripoli government said it withdrew from the city temporarily to spare civilians from further fighting.

Mr Putin held phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday to discuss the ceasefire.

The Wall Street Journal