Thursday January 16, 2020
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On Sunday, a conference in Berlin will discuss the Libya conflict – several heads of state and government agree to participate. An armistice in the country is at least within reach. General Haftar is ready for this, said Federal Foreign Minister Maas.
In the Libyan civil war, the influential General Chalifa Haftar, according to Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, agreed to an armistice. “He has agreed to honor the ceasefire regardless of not signing the ceasefire agreement in Moscow earlier this week. This is extremely important,” said Maas after a three-hour conversation with Haftar in Benghazi, Libya.
Haftar is also generally ready to come to Berlin on Sunday for the Libya summit. Chancellor Angela Merkel then brings together the countries involved in the conflict.
Three days before the Libya conference taking place in Berlin, French President Emmanuel Macron and Great Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to participate. The French head of state will travel to the German capital, confirmed the Élysée Palace. Macron had “prepared the conference by phone with Chancellor Angela Merkel in the morning,” the statement said. Johnson’s spokesman said the prime minister was coming to Berlin to “support the ceasefire effort.”
The head of the internationally recognized unitary government in Tripoli, Fajes al-Sarradsch, also confirmed his participation. “We will be present in Berlin,” said al-Sarradsch at a meeting with members of his government and military personnel, according to his press service.
Trump coming to Berlin?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously agreed to attend the conference. It is unclear whether US President Donald Trump is also traveling to Berlin. Russia, like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is strengthening General Haftar. It has now gained control over large parts of the country. Turkey is also providing military support to the government of al-Sarraj.
The aim of the international conference is to start a peace process in the North African state in crisis. There is currently a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey in Libya. Negotiations on a lasting ceasefire in Moscow failed on Tuesday.
The conference in Berlin is to bring the parties to the conflict back to a discussion table under the auspices of the United Nations. The German government, however, dampened expectations in advance and called the meeting a “prelude to peace talks”. Since the overthrow of Muammar al-Gaddafi, the long-time ruler in 2011, there has been chaos in Libya. In April of last year, General Haftar launched an offensive on Tripoli and the government there, which he had been fighting for years and which only controlled small areas.
New wave of escape across the Mediterranean
Europe has considerable interest in stability on the south coast of the Mediterranean, also because Libya has traditionally been an important oil supplier to the European Union. The country has also developed into one of the most important transit states for refugees heading north due to the war events with arbitrary rule and weakness of the state institutions. The less state control in Libya, the more routes can open there.
The fighting for Libya’s capital, Tripoli, has meanwhile led to a new wave of escape across the Mediterranean, according to the aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Since Saturday last week alone, more than 1100 people have dared to cross the North African country, MSF said. Most of them were brought back to mainland Libya. More than 200 were saved by aid organizations.
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