14 months after launching his attack on the Libyan capital, Tripoli, Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter stood before reporters last Saturday in Cairo, alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Speaker of the Tobruk Parliament Aqila Saleh, to announce his readiness to accept a cease-fire under the auspices of Egypt, along with an initiative To return to political talks between the Libyan parties.
Mada Masr.com says that this new initiative represents a change in the way the Libyan crisis is managed, as Moscow and Cairo began to formulate a plan to dispense with the role of Khalifa Haftar, after the collapse of his army in the West.
The site adds that Haftar, who was an ally of Egypt, came to Cairo on Wednesday in a desperate attempt to seek military support in the battles against the National Accord government, in order to control the Libyan West under the slogan "fighting Turkish-backed terrorism."
The website quoted an informed source in Cairo that Haftar failed to hold a bilateral face-to-face meeting with Sisi, due to the resentment of senior Egyptian officials from him, since they were from the beginning hesitating about his forces ’attack on Tripoli in April 2019, despite the fact that this step was enjoyed With the support of France, the Emirates, Jordan and Russia.
The site indicates that the relative ease that accompanied the restoration of control over the city of Tarhuna, and the organized withdrawal carried out by Haftar's forces, were unexpected even after the fall of the strategic air base in mid-May last, when Egypt and the UAE had already begun to make arrangements Haftar exit from his position in the heart of the Libyan arena.
According to Libyan analyst at the Klegendel Institute for International Relations in the Netherlands, Jalal Harshawi, officials in Egypt were aware that Cairo was no longer in control of the affairs of affairs, since alongside Turkey's intervention in the West, Russia emerged as a strong foreign supporter in Cyrenaica.
And the website quoted another Egyptian source, that there are expectations at the moment of a Turkish-Russian agreement, which means that Cairo must wait to see the next developments, as this source believes that there will be an agreement between Turkey and Russia so that the forces of the reconciliation government will not move to the east Al-Libi, while Egypt reached out to the United States to seek guarantees to draw a line that Al-Wefaq forces could not cross.
The site indicates that Egypt and Russia are seeking to develop a plan to overcome the Libyan crisis, mainly based on the political road map presented by Aqila Saleh, who was previously a strong supporter of Haftar, but now he is seeking a greater political role for himself, and has started to move against the general.
The roadmap presented by Aqila Saleh is based on the election of a new presidential council consisting of three members, representing the three Libyan historical regions, and these are forming a new government.
Leave Haftar
According to an Egyptian source, all Haftar supporters are now aware that this general is no longer a strong military and political leader, but Haftar will not be removed before the exit of Al-Sarraj, meaning that the two men may leave the political scene together.
The website quotes a Libyan source close to Haftar as saying, "If the Turks find it necessary to ask Sarraj to withdraw within the framework of a political agreement to get rid of Haftar, they will do so and Sarraj will not necessarily mind."
The site states that Haftar will not be removed from the scene completely and immediately, but will remain in Cairo indefinitely, and will be subjected to close monitoring during the implementation of the plan to form a political structure leading the east, according to what was confirmed by a high-ranking Libyan military official close to Haftar.
Another Egyptian source also states that Haftar will stay in Cairo for at least a few weeks, after which he will need to find a place to retire.
The website quoted a Libyan source as saying that in the absence of Haftar, there could be agreement on the person who will replace him in the leadership of the Libyan National Army in the east.
According to a source in this army, Major General Faraj Bughalia - a supporter of the former Muammar Gaddafi regime - is one of the candidates for this mission, for fear of losing the support of the former regime men who owe allegiance to Haftar and Russia.
Other names are also nominated, such as Abdel-Razzaq Al-Nadhouri, Chief of Staff of the Haftar Army, and Brigadier Saqr Al-Jaroushi, Chief of Staff of the Air Force.