American writer: Turkey's intervention in Libya overthrew Russia's ambitions

Retired Major General Khalifa Hifter witnessed this week the collapse of his forces, as he failed to enter the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and then began to lose many strategic areas where he was positioning.

Writer Declan Walsh says in a report published by the American "New York Times" that the Libyan-backed Russian military commander whose forces suffered a series of losses on the battlefield in recent days, announced on Saturday that he was ready to stop the fighting and enter talks to end the war.

The author believes that this announcement, although it is unlikely that it will result in the immediate end of the war, but it represents new evidence of the decisive role played by Turkey through its support for the government of international accreditation, as its interference in favor of the internationally recognized government has undermined aspirations Russia is changing the course of the battles.

He added that Hifter announced his offer of a ceasefire while he was in Cairo alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Egypt - along with Russia and the UAE - has invested heavily in supporting Haftar and is now trying to maneuver to limit its losses after the dramatic collapse of its campaign against Tripoli.

shock

The writer adds in this regard that the size and speed of the collapse in the ranks of Haftar forces was a shock, and analysts believe that the withdrawal of these forces does not only mark the end of his attack on Tripoli, but rather it will reshape the political and military scene in the country.

The newspaper quotes researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations Tariq Al-Majrasi as saying, "All calculations have changed in Libya, and it is not clear what will happen after the dust of the fighting has cleared. But Haftar is now in an embarrassing position."

Welch notes that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had sent a warship and combat aircraft march last June, in order to repel the Khalifa Haftar attack on Tripoli. The Turkish-backed forces managed to achieve a series of important victories in recent days, and succeeded in completely expelling Haftar's forces from the Libyan West, and pushed them eastward for hundreds of miles.

After controlling Tripoli International Airport, Al-Wefaq government forces entered the city of Tarhuna (southeast of Tripoli) on Friday, which is considered the last stronghold of Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan West. Followers of Haftar fleeing were forced to leave expensive Russian helicopters and weapons, as well as huge stores of ammunition.

By Saturday evening, the Al-Wefaq government forces had reached the outskirts of Sirte, 230 miles east of Tripoli, where violent clashes erupted between the two sides. Al-Wefaq fighters were subjected to air strikes from warplanes and other drones, which resulted in the deaths of at least 19 people, according to Libyan reports.

In the south, oil production in the giant Sharara field resumed after Haftar's forces fled.

Military actions

"The question now is: What can the Russians do?" Said hundreds of Russian mercenaries brought in under the Wagner Group, a private military services company linked to the Kremlin, that played the question now. An essential role in the attack on Tripoli, however, it has now had to retreat to safe locations within Haftar's air base.

For Lacher, there is another possibility that the alleged cease-fire offer that was announced in Cairo is just a pretext for launching Egyptian air strikes or any other military moves in order to support Haftar during the next week.

This analyst adds that since the beginning of his military operations in 2014, Haftar has built a reputation for being an aggressive man and a fist-style believer and refusing to practice politics, and he has always been exploiting his foreign allies and praising his desire to gain power by force.

In his recent speech in Cairo, Haftar spoke of a Turkish occupation, and demanded the removal of all foreign fighters from Libya, an invitation that the writer considered shocking given Haftar's great reliance on arms, fighters, and money coming from abroad.

Analysts expect that Turkey and Russia will avoid direct confrontation in Libya, and thus may reach a new agreement between them.

Another possibility mentioned in light of the current developments is that Haftar will face challenges in his strongholds in the Libyan East, after he had excluded all of his opponents without mercy in the past.