The Gulf country has shown its support for the initiative presented by Egypt on Saturday, which includes a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the mercenaries from the North African nation

The Emirates bets on a political solution for the war in Libya

photo_camera AFP/AMER HILABI - UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash

"With the support of the U.S. National Security Council, the Egyptian initiative for Libya is strengthened, as is the international Arab drive for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of foreign troops and a return to the political path. You cannot return to a century of difference with open military intervention by ignoring the international will that supports a political solution," UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash wrote on Monday on the social network Twitter. "The international community cannot accept that the battle continues. There is a legitimate concern about the continuation of the war in Libya [...] That's why we need a comprehensive political solution for all parties to the conflict, so that it becomes a new Arab country," he added in his profile.

With this message Abu Dhabi has shown its explicit support for the plan announced by Cairo on Saturday aimed at creating a roadmap for Tripoli. The Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who met with the commander of the Libyan National Liberation Army (LNA), Khalifa Haftar, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the country controlled by the rival faction, Aguila Saleh, announced the implementation of a ceasefire starting on Monday. The president also informed that the initiative contemplates the withdrawal of the mercenaries that fight in both sides - fundamentally Syrians supported by Turkey and Qatar in the ranks of the Government of National Unity (GNA) [some 11,000] and Russians and Sudanese in the LNA [figures are unknown] - and the dismantling of the Libyan militias that give coverage to the GNA of Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, which includes the delivery of their weapons. 

El presidente de Egipto, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, y el comandante del Ejército de Liberación Nacional libio (LNA), Jalifa Haftar, en el palacio presidencial de El Cairo, el 6 de junio de 2020

In addition, the road map presented by Al-Sisi includes the adoption of a constitutional declaration that will regulate the benefits to be gained in the country's next phase and the formation of an elected Presidential Council supervised by the United Nations (UN).

Various experts consulted by Al-Ain consider this initiative to be "key" to resolving the Libyan crisis. The analyst Walid Moamen Al-Farsi assures in this publication that the Cairo declaration "is a historic position for Egypt and Arabism, whose final objective was and continues to be stabilization". For his part, Muhammad Salih Jibril Al-Lafi assures that the initiative was "clear, frank, integral and represents a strong message for the countries of the international community, the participants of the Berlin Conference [held on January 19] and the supervisors of the 5+5 project [the Geneva Military Committee sponsored by the UN]". All the experts quoted by the media also agree that if the plan presented by Egypt were implemented, it would put an end to Turkish intervention in the country, which has generated insecurity due to its covert support for the terrorist militias that have fought against Haftar.

El presidente egipcio Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, el comandante libio Jalifa Haftar (R) y al presidente del Parlamento libio Aguila Saleh en el El Cairo, el 6 de junio de 2020
Oil production is restored

The country's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Monday that it is restoring oil production in the Sharara field, the most important in Libya. The field had been blocked since last January, when militias took control of the facility. Its closure has caused losses valued at 5.3 billion dollars, according to NOC. "The Libyan economy has suffered enough from the illegal blockades and we have much to do, and we hope that the resumption of production at Sharara will be a first step in reviving Libyan oil and gas," said NOC President Mustafa Sanalla. It should be remembered at this point that black gold accounts for more than 90% of the country's total revenue, so its stabilization is vital to a prosperous future of Libya.

The fighting continues

Four days after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Prime Minister of the Libyan National Unity Government ( GNA ) announced their victory over the forces of the National Liberation Army ( LNA ), commanded by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, in the capital Tripoli, the latter faction has begun to prepare to counterattack, despite the coming into force of the cessation of hostilities.

In the vicinity of the northern city of Sirte, which was recovered by the GNA this weekend, fighting is intensifying. The LNA has reported, through its official Twitter account, that it carried out air strikes on Monday morning against the positions of the Sarraj government, in an area located 40 kilometers west of the town. In addition, the Haftar Army has reported that eight civilians, including three women and two children, were killed this morning in a missile bombing launched by the GNA.

In Cyrenaica, Libya's eastern coastal region, the LNA has also reported the complete destruction of a rival faction's artillery company, consisting of three Turkish-made Hauser model assault weapons, two tanks and six armed vehicles, as well as a convoy of transport buses used to transport Syrian mercenaries and Turkish officers to the North African country.

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