Libya: The will of the US to extinguish rivalries in the country
The US Senior Councillor Massad Boulos
Since the 22nd of August, Washington has still been pushing for a reunification between the two principal rival factions in Libya in order to improve relations, according to The New Arab.
The Libyan government is still at war with the oriental militia guided by Khalifa Haftar, and the US is working to reach an agreement on rival executives, military structure and economic stability, after many years of political stagnation.
The International Crisis Group has declared that the American intervention could consolidate the Libyan institutions, but also said that the politics could break this balance because of the hard opposition to the US work.
Claudia Gazzini, the senior analyst of the Crisis Group in Libya and the report’s author, spoke to The New Arab’s microphones on the 22nd of August, saying «We consider that a good effort, but what we’re saying is that the US needs to see this through; so, ensure that the terms of that deal are disclosed, for public scrutiny».
She also proposed an “Unified Agreement” that could face corruption and block illicit financial flows in the country: «Allow for scrutiny of the so-called Unified Agreement because on the basis of that we can also determine how and whether to stop all the other parallel flows of illicit financing».
The US talks are considered positive; in fact, Washington declared that, in the third week of August, Libyan rival groups agreed to establish a shared operations centre in Sirte and a training centre in Misurata.
The US Senior Councillor Massad Boulos also reached a UN agreement in Tunis on electoral legislation and on the High National Electoral Commission, trying to build a strong new government structure.
Some Libyan ideas are different and more similar to the old system, but Libyan officials, in agreement with the American proposal, would like to keep Abdulhamid Dbeibah as Prime Minister and give Saddam Haftar the leadership of the Presidential Council.
Gazzini was worried about this new set-up and about Saddam’s intentions, saying that if they give Haftar so much power, he could use it to isolate the Prime Minister’s role.
She also said that she is worried about the lack of involvement of institutions and civil organizations. The senior analyst also said that Libya would need politics and people affiliated with the government or Haftar’s militia to sign the US “Unified Agreement,” or they will probably face a strong break in stability.
The centre of the problem and concerns is based on the several drone attacks during the first ten days of August on an important refinery in Zawiya, one of the most contended areas in Libya for oil fields. These drones caused many blackouts and a big oil drought in the region.
In the same month, on the 8th, Khalifa Haftar’s military collided with some armed groups affiliated with the government next to the al-Sarah military base in the South-East, declaring their victory and claiming many arrests and seizures of armed vehicles. All these actions have been denied by the Operations Hall for the Liberation of the South.
Claudia Gazzini also said that the armed groups could accept the US agreement, but only if they can position some armed groups in Tripoli and in other Libyan strategical cities.
«The risk is that if some resistance groups do not accept the agreement, many of them could be mobilised in Tripoli, Misurata and, probably, in Zawiya. It’s a very critical situation and it could be worse if Haftar could buy government fidelity», Gazzini said.
The New Arab/Maghrebi
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