The President of the Presidential Council of the Government of Al-Wefaq Government, Fayez al-Sarraj, discussed today with the commander of the American military command in Africa, General Stephen Townsend, fighting terrorism, field developments and the Russian military presence in Libya, while Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala stressed to his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Tripoli's refusal to hold the Arab League An extraordinary meeting on Libya tomorrow, Tuesday.
The Al-Wefaq government agreed with the AFRICOM leadership to continue their efforts to combat terrorism and strike its remnants, in the context of what was described as strategic cooperation between Libya and the United States. The meeting, which was held in Zwara, west of the capital, Tripoli, discussed the latest military and security developments, and the American efforts to achieve stability in Libya.
Official sources revealed that the meeting between Al-Sarraj, the commander of AFRICOM and the American ambassador to Tripoli, Richard Norland - in which a number of ministers and military leaders participated in Libya - discussed field developments, particularly in Sirte and Jafra, and the Russian presence on Libyan soil.
The US embassy in Libya said that today's meeting stressed the need to stop military actions by all parties to the conflict and return to negotiations, and the embassy added that Ambassador Norland "gave a briefing on the support of the United States to the ongoing diplomatic efforts under the auspices of the United Nations to promote the ceasefire and political dialogue, as the leader AFRICOM has his military viewpoint on the risk of escalation, the dangers posed by Russia's support to Wagner's operations, and the strategic importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the Mediterranean.
In the past weeks, the forces of the Al-Wefaq government - internationally recognized - have achieved a series of victories in the face of the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, most notably their expulsion from the southern neighborhoods of the capital, Tripoli, and the restoration of the cities of Tarhuna and Bani Walid, and the entire cities of the West Coast, Al-Wattia air base, and towns in the western mountain; Meanwhile, Al-Wefaq forces are preparing to restore the city of Sirte (450 km east of Tripoli), which is the gateway to the Crescent Petroleum.
Discussions with Riyadh
On the other hand, the Libyan Foreign Ministry affiliated with the Al-Wefaq government said that Minister Mohamed Al-Taher Siala confirmed for the second time his government’s refusal to hold an extraordinary session of the Arab League on Libya on Tuesday, after reviewing a draft resolution submitted by Egypt.
And Siala said in a telephone conversation today with the Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, that the convening of the conference violated the internal system of the Arab League Council.
A statement by the Libyan Foreign Ministry stated that Libya is the country concerned with the meeting, and Cairo did not abide by the procedural rules in calling the emergency meeting, given that Libya was not consulted about that.
For his part, the Saudi minister said that the Kingdom is keen to reach a real and sustainable cease-fire, and Riyadh is ready to work to spare Libya more destruction and bloodshed, stressing that the Kingdom supports the solution reached by the Libyans.
This development comes two days after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi hinted at the possibility of his country's army carrying out external military tasks in Libya if necessary, considering that any direct intervention in Libya has become international legality, which was rejected by the Tripoli government and described it as blatant interference in the sovereignty Libya and as a declaration of war.
In response to Al-Sisi's statements, Salah Al-Namroush, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense at the Al-Wefaq government said that Sirte and Al-Jafra are Libyan, and that the government is moving towards extending control over the entire Libyan soil, and added that Libya is a sovereign country represented by the Presidential Council of the Al-Wefaq government in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.
Al-Namroush explained that whoever wanted to secure his interests with Libya "let him come from the gate of legitimacy, not by reviewing the frames and fueling chaos," as he put it.
Call to calm down
In a related context, the European Union called on the regional powers concerned with the crisis in Libya to reduce the escalation and to avoid fueling it. He told a European Union spokesman, Peter Stano - in response to a question about the Egyptian president's recent statements on Libya - that the external interventions were fueling the conflict, and called for an immediate ceasefire in order to resume the political track within the framework of the Berlin track and the United Nations.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also called for more European efforts to support the "IRINI" naval mission to combat arms smuggling to Libya. During his visit to the mission's headquarters in Rome, accompanied by his Italian counterpart Luigi de Mayo, he said that the mission should be more stable, and called on the member states of the Union Europeans to make more contributions.
On the field level, the Al-Wefaq government, Berkane Fury Operation, said that three unidentified bodies were recovered in Qasr Bin Ghashir area south of the capital, Tripoli, which was under the control of the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter for more than a year, before they withdrew from them weeks ago. Concord Forces advance.