Anger in Tripoli .. UAE media platform for Hifter attack

Mahmoud Mohamed-Tripoli

`` Abu Dhabi is a media platform for Hifter's forces '', perhaps summarizing the secret of the anger experienced by the Libyan capital Tripoli because of the UAE's behavior and the support announced by its government to the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter, who has launched an attack on the capital and internationally recognized government forces.

In a remarkable scene, a spokesman for the so-called "Libyan National Army" Ahmed al-Mesmari appeared in a press conference two days before Abu Dhabi, after he had been for months out of Benghazi, Hifter's headquarters in the east of Libya.

The Presidential Council of the Government of Al Wefaq denounced the UAE allowing Al-Masmari to hold the press conference in its capital, describing this stance as hostile, surprising the transformation of the UAE capital as a "hostile platform" for the militias who attacked Tripoli.

Particular inattention

"The departure of one of the elements of militias that violate the legitimacy and support for the rule of the military rejecting the democratic civil state in military uniform in a foreign country expresses a serious disregard for national sovereignty," the presidential statement said.

The Libyan authorities in Tripoli accuse the UAE of supporting Hifter's media outlets by supporting a range of media platforms funded by the Abu Dhabi government, as well as military support with modern drones, Emirati armored vehicles and advanced weapons for forces seeking to overthrow the Wefaq government in Tripoli.

The UAE accusations of supporting Hifter's forces were supported by reports of the UN Security Council's Committee of International Experts, which has recorded a long series of violations by the UAE more than once since 2014 of the arms embargo imposed on Libya since 2011.

The United Nations Committee of Experts announced in 2017 that the UAE has provided Hifter with military and logistical support, including aircraft, military armor and weapons, and Abu Dhabi has re-operated an airbase in the outskirts of Benghazi.

"This move from the UAE is further evidence of the UAE's involvement in fueling the war in Libya by supporting the aggressive militias and the media platforms supported by Abu Dhabi to overthrow the Wefaq government and spread more chaos," Jatlawi told Al Jazeera Net.

He called on the United Nations and the UN Security Council to document these violations, and condemn the shameful political behavior of the UAE, which weakens the chances of political solutions.

He called on the Presidential Council of the Government of Al-Wefaq to take appropriate diplomatic measures to respond to the violation of Libyan sovereignty and set limits.

UAE involvement publicly

Chairman of the Justice and Construction Party, Mohammed Sawan, said al-Mesmari's departure from Abu Dhabi "is a controversy against the UAE's public involvement in the bloodshed of Libyans."

"The UAE's involvement is a blatant challenge to the feelings of Libyans, especially those who support the Hifter coup project, who were tricked by false media under empty slogans such as the national army and the preservation of Libyan sovereignty," Sawan told Al Jazeera Net.

Sawan said that the UAE's position "expressly and clearly reflects the extent of UAE interference in Libya's affairs and flagrant violation of the sovereignty of states, while revealing at the same time the UAE continues to prolong the conflict in Libya and challenge the decisions of the international community."

Hostile position
Press writer Abdullah al-Kabeer described the exit of al-Mesmari at a press conference in the UAE as "explicitly declaring a hostile position to the reconciliation government," describing the statements signed by several countries calling for an end to the fighting and a return to the political process, including the UAE, "without value."

Abizaid and Kabir told Al-Jazeera Net "the government of reconciliation in the future to reject any international position towards Libya involving the UAE."

Al-Kabir said that Hifter's failure to storm Tripoli and the major powers' pressure to return to the political process threaten the UAE project in Libya, indicating Hifter's downfall, which the UAE does not want.

He explained that the UAE is currently working to thwart any project for a political settlement, pointing out that the public support of the UAE to its ally Hifter will be confronted by a European desire to end the fighting in Libya.