Libya has condemned the Egyptian president for recent comments suggesting that Cairo “will not remain inactive” against threats to national security and it could arm Libyan tribes against the internationally recognized government.
During a meeting in Cairo with tribal leaders from the eastern city of Benghazi on Thursday, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said Egypt “will not remain idle in the face of any movement that poses a direct threat to national security not only in Egypt but also in Libya” and the region, according to a presidential statement.
In response, the Government of the National Agreement (GNA) The Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized the statement as “blatant interference in Libya’s internal affairs.”
“El-Sisi’s talk is a repeat of his previous statements, which is blatant interference in Libyan affairs.” Mohammed Al-Qablawi said to Al Jazeera: adding that el-Sisi’s speech “was not aimed at peace as he said, but it is he who is feeding the [Libyan] conflict.”
Egyptian president The comments came days after the eastern-based Libyan parliament, aligned with renegade commander Khalifa Haftar, initially provided support for a threatened Egyptian military intervention in the country.
In June, el-Sisi suggested that Cairo could launch “external military missions” in Libya, saying that “any direct intervention in Libya has already become internationally legitimate.”
He threatened to send his army if the GNA forces captured Sirte, located more than 800 km (500 miles) from the border with Egypt.
The GNA, which has been pushing to take the strategic city of Haftar, denounced Sisi’s statements as a “declaration of war”.
Libya, a major oil producer, has been in chaos since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew and killed ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Since 2014, it has been divided between rival factions based in Tripoli and in the east, in a sometimes chaotic war that has attracted outside powers and an avalanche of weapons and foreign mercenaries.
Haftar has the support of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the GNA is backed by Turkey.
The self-styled Libyan National Army, based in eastern Haftar, has backed down after Turkish support helped the GNA delay its 14-month assault on the capital Tripoli.
In June, Cairo proposed a peace initiative calling for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of mercenaries, and the dissolution of militias in the neighboring country.
The GNA and Ankara rejected the plan, which el-Sisi revealed with Haftar at his side.
Earlier this month, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the United Nations Security Council that the conflict in Libya has entered a new phase “with foreign interference reaching unprecedented levels.”
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
