An official source in the General Secretariat of the Arab League said that Ahmed Aboul Gheit “relies on the presence of Libyan leaders in the political arena, who are well aware of the supreme interest of Libya, and put it above any other narrow considerations.”.
The source added, “It is hoped that a national position will be reached that is compatible with the foundations and a path to support a political process in Libya, in implementation of the pledges of international and regional powers during previous international conferences in this regard, especially the results of the Berlin 1 and 2 conferences.”“.
The Arab League’s concern about the situation in Libya came in conjunction with the unanimous choice of the Libyan parliament, Fathi Bashagha, as head of the new government, according to what was announced by the official spokesman of the Council, Abdullah Belhaq..
And Blihaq said in a brief statement, “The Council voted to grant confidence to Fathi Bashagha as prime minister by the unanimous consent of the attendees…a change of government by Parliament in light of the announcement by the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, not to hand over power, and his convoy was subjected to a shooting incident yesterday evening.“.
worrying situation
The Libyan capital is in a state of anxiety and anticipation, due to the intermittent skirmishes between the militias, which portend an imminent war, following the parliament’s decision today to declare Bashagha prime minister of the new government..
The height of the tension was Thursday, when gunmen attacked a car in which Dabaiba was traveling and shot him, but he escaped without injuries. Here, the researcher in political affairs, Muhammad Al-Hariki, confirmed that the decision to change the government “will not go unnoticed, as the situation may flare up in the hours, not the coming days.”.
The researcher in political affairs stressed, during his statements to “Sky News Arabia”, that the parliament’s move “also causes division, as a result of the lack of clarity in the position of the international community towards the Bashagha government, and the possibility of its refusal to recognize it.”
During the past few days, the capital witnessed violent clashes between armed militias, which led to injuries and a state of panic among citizens.
Uncontrolled weapons and militias
The statements issued by the President of the Arab League also included stressing the importance of starting to remove all forms of foreign military presence from Libyan territory, confining arms to the official authority alone in the country, unifying the military, security and economic institutions, and fully supporting any authority in Libya that puts these goals into practice..
Libyan politician Radwan Al-Fitouri stressed that this crisis “not only threatens Libya, but all neighboring countries, given the insecurity in Libya.”
The Libyan politician explained, during his statements to “Sky News Arabia”, that “the correct scene and accurate description of the current situation is the occupation of the country by militias and mercenaries.”
He continued, “What was imposed by force is only lifted by force,” referring to the importance of the mercenaries’ exit by force and the dismantling of the armed militia’s weapons, “which do not know anything about diplomacy and political methods.”
Al-Fitouri called for “the need to benefit from the support of neighboring countries, especially Egypt, for the efforts of the 5 + 5 Military Committee to get mercenaries out of Libya and unify the military institution. These steps are the only guarantee for a real solution to the country’s decade-long crisis.”
He also praised the moves of the Military Committee, which he described as “active and sincere”, in order to expel the mercenaries and unify the military institution..
On Wednesday, the central city of Sirte witnessed the ninth meeting of the Joint Military Committee (5 + 5), in the presence of the delegation of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya..
According to the committee’s statement, the meeting is discussing ways to preserve the ceasefire agreement, and studying the development of successful mechanisms to permanently remove mercenaries and foreign forces supporting them from Libya..
The committee also agreed to set a date for the opening of the desert road, El-Lod, linking Buqrain and Al-Jufra in the next meeting, noting that the international ceasefire observer team will begin its work as soon as the exit of mercenaries and foreign forces begins..
Libya and neighboring countries
The Libyan street is betting on the role of neighboring countries in contributing to the implementation of a solution to expel mercenaries and foreign forces.
The Libyan diplomat, Salem Al-Werfalli, said that “the neighboring countries led by Egypt are working on one goal only, which is to establish security to prevent chaos in the regional environment, which negatively affects everyone.”
The Libyan diplomat explained to “Sky News Arabia”, that “Egypt has worked and is still working to find common ground among all Libyans, with the aim of helping them reach an integrated national executive vision that addresses the roots of the political, economic and security crisis that Libya has been suffering from since 2011.”.
The most prominent of these efforts was the launch of the “Cairo Declaration” initiative in June 2020 as a Libyan-Libyan initiative to resolve the crisis within the framework of the United Nations efforts, which re-embodied an explicit call to adhere to a political solution to the crisis, a halt to operations, a military escalation and a ceasefire.
Al-Werfalli added: “The street trusts the Arab movements, especially the neighboring countries, in order to establish stability in the country that has suffered from the horrors of fighting over the past 10 years.“.
In turn, the political researcher in Libyan affairs, Idris Hamid, said: “The role of the neighboring countries is the most active and honest, given the strategic and security depth Libya represents for the neighboring countries (Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Niger and Chad)..
He also explained that the role of neighboring countries, especially Egypt, “contributed greatly, and was the main nucleus, to the ceasefire in Libya, in order to restore the political track and reach the international road map.”
As for the political researcher, Idris Hamid, during his statements to “Sky News Arabia”, he reviewed the efforts of the neighboring countries, where he praised the role of Algeria, which in the middle of last year hosted meetings on the crisis, in coordination with Tunisia, which also had an active role, despite what it is going through from Internal problems at the moment.
Hamid also praised the role of Morocco, which coordinated and contributed greatly to the Skhirat Agreement, which had a strategic role in the crisis and its political course.
Regarding the Sudanese role, he said: “It is trying to control the borders and help Libya overcome its crisis, despite the internal crises it is also going through.“.
With regard to Chad and Niger, Hamid stressed that they are “the most dangerous, as a result of the infiltration of terrorist groups and the Chadian opposition into southern Libya,” stressing that Chad “is trying with all its might to control its borders with Libya.”.
Libya is witnessing a sensitive and ambiguous situation, amid Arab and regional warnings against returning to square one, as the United Nations warned of a worsening of the situation, and its spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said that things were “going in the opposite direction.”
