Advisor to Libyan Parliament Speaker: Egypt has the right to take part in fighting terrorism in Libya

CAIRO - 30 September 2020: Advisor to the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Fathi al-Mariamy said, "Egypt has the right to take part in fighting terrorism and mercenaries in Libya to preserve its own security and that of Libya."

 

"We all agree there is no alternative to expelling all foreigners from Libya," he stressed in a telephone interview.

 

Mariami mentioned earlier that a joint committee of the army and police had been formed to take over the security mission in Sirte, explaining the joint committee would be formed from the three regions to secure the recent authority in Sirte.

 

The Libyan Armed Forces restored Sirte in January and was advancing in the outskirts of Misrata and Tripoli. 

 

However, early in June, the forces lost Al-Watiyah and Tarhouna, their last stronghold western the country, retreatingto Sirte and Al-Jufrah. The Libyan army installed air defense systems in Sirte,while Al-Jufrah already has a main airbase.

 

On September 28, Egypt hosted inter-Libyan talks in Hurghada city, Red Sea for military and police delegations from the two rivalry parties in eastern and western Libya. 

 

The talks, which come within the framework of the (5+5) Joint Military Commission talks, tackled the ways of forming a joint force from the conflicting parties to carry out missions that would be declared later to build confidence between the two sides and pave a road to resume the political and economic talks based on the outcomes of Berlin Conference and Cairo Declaration, Sky News Arabia reported.

 

It has been reported that the meeting also tackled the ways of keeping the cease-fire between the National Libyan Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the forces of the Tripoli-based National Accord Government, presided by Fayez al-Saraj. 

 

The meetings also reviewed the future of the oil-rich city of Sirte, where the new government would take a headquarters in case the political dialogue between the two parties succeeded ahead of the Berlin Conference II on Libya due on October 5.

 

Egypt is adopting a strategy of opening up to all Libyan parties supporting a political solution, as part of its support for efforts to defuse the crisis in the country.

 

Egypt earlier announced an initiative, dubbed the Cairo Declaration, which posits a Libyan-Libyan resolution as a basis for resolving the country’s conflict, drawing on earlier international efforts, including the Berlin conference.

 

On September 22, Egyptian President Sisi addressed several ongoing topics during the speech he gave at the United Nations’ 75th General Assembly which was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

President Sisi said that his country is committed to a political solution for the current crisis in Libya based on the Skhirat agreement, the Berlin conference and Cairo’s declaration, which set a schedule for establishing a consensual government.

 

It is expected that Cairo will host a massive conference for Inter-Libyan reconciliation in October, with the participation of dozens of Libyan personalities and tribal sheikhs, Youm7 reported Hassan al-Mabrouk, a member of the preparatory committee for the Libyan national reconciliation conference on Saturday.

 

Mabrouk called upon the Libyan parties, and the international community to solve the Libyan issue, preserve the unity and sovereignty of Libya, eliminate foreign interference, get rid of mercenaries, and dissolve militias .