Headlines: the Libyan cauldron

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By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

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The Arab League calls for talks in Libya and an end to foreign intervention. It must be said that we are witnessing a sudden rise in temperature…

"  The situation in Libya has deteriorated in recent weeks ," notes Le Monde Afrique . After several months of an offensive aimed at taking Tripoli, the forces of Marshal Haftar suffered setbacks against the GNA, the government of national unity, supported by drones and Turkish military advisers. GNA forces are now targeting the coastal city of Sirte, located 450 kilometers east of Tripoli and a strategic lock towards the fiefdom of Marshal Haftar.  "

For its part, Le Monde Afrique still points out , “   Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sissi warned on Saturday that any advance by pro-GNA towards Sirte could lead to 'direct' intervention from Cairo. The GNA regards these threats as a 'declaration of war'.  "

For their part, France and Turkey accuse each other of playing a dangerous game ... Paris diplomatically supporting Marshal Haftar and Ankara militarily supporting the GNA.

Advantage to Turkey?

For the Moroccan site Le 360 ​​Afrique , it is Turkey which is in a position of strength ... "  Macron and Sissi are bandaging muscles, while Erdogan wins the war  ", headlines the Moroccan site. The latest diplomatic turmoil "  is not of a nature, he believes , to withstand the thousands of Syrian militias, Turkish planes and drones, but also and above all the hundreds of tons of weapons that land regularly in Libya , by airborne or sea freighters. Very concretely, Turkey is winning this war, believes Le 360 ​​Afrique, and all those who support Marshal Haftar are losing it, with the exception of Russia. Because, only the Russians, whose strategic interests are not threatened in Libya, will be able to obtain in the final negotiations with the Turks, an acceptable compensation for them . "

"  As for France," continues Le 360 ​​Afrique , " which had started the war in Libya by causing Colonel Gaddafi to fall, it will get nothing out of it and has lost all influence on the Government of national unity." Finally, for Egypt, which intended to defend its interests in the Mediterranean Sea, in particular in the oil and gas sites which are the subject of a dispute with the Turks, the disappointment will be total . "

Tears and blood…

In any case, sighs Le Pays in Burkina Faso, "  Libya is today hostage to the interests of foreign powers which bite and then blow on the wound. As long as this hypocrisy of the Westerners, who only have eyes for oil and gas reserves and the open-air arms market that has become the country of Muammar Gaddafi, continues, the Libyan populations will never know peace. Indeed, leading the country, under the current situation, neither side can win militarily and the stagnation of the conflict only prolongs the suffering of the Libyan people which is found to be the fall guy. She had been promised democracy and was only served with tears and blood . "

Diplomatic Poker Winning?

Today , still in Ouagadougou, wonders about the real scope of the latest diplomatic efforts: “  Will the Arab League succeed in resuming the Libyan palaver tree? What about foreign non-interference? An interference that is already in fact, let's not hide our faces! When will a united Libya and a return of the international community for its reconstruction and the exploitation of its oil? Unanswered questions for the moment, deplores the daily life in Ouagadougou, because on the ground, the troops of Sarraj and Haftar shoot at each other, the bursts of rifles thunder and the planes drop their machines of death.  "

Finally, Liberation in Paris also wonders: "  verbal jousts, threats, press conferences, press releases, declarations ... will the great diplomatic poker that is played in the world capitals ultimately save Sirte a new battle, or, at on the contrary, does it add fuel to the fire? On one side as on the other, the Libyans can no longer get rid of these bulky sponsors. And become more and more spectators of their own war. "

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