The Eurasian nation's foreign ministry blames Haftar for being an "obstacle to peace" in the North African state

Turkey rejects Egypt's allegations of its presence in the Libyan conflict

photo_camera PHOTO/KREMLIN - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The diplomatic crisis between Egypt and Turkey is one of the most serious political rifts in recent years. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly rejected Cairo's accusations against Ankara regarding its presence in the conflict in Libya, just a few hours after the President of Egypt presented an initiative to end the war that is devastating the North African nation. "We reject the unfounded accusations made by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry against Turkey in the context of Libya," said Turkish Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy. 

Aksoy also blamed Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA), and his allies, referring to Egypt, for being "the real obstacles to peace in Libya by trying to overthrow the legitimate government and establish an authoritarian regime". "It is not surprising that those who have come to power through a coup d'état support a coup leader. Egypt's military support to Haftar for a year is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions," Aksoy said. 

El mariscal del LNA libio Jalifa Haftar

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made these statements at the same time that the militias backed by mercenaries recruited by his country were reconquering the strategic town of Al Wishka and reaching the centre of the coastal town of Sirte, in central Libya. Ankara defends its presence in Libya and has stated that it will continue to support what it considers to be the legitimate government of the North African nation. More than a year after Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar launched a military offensive to take control of the country's capital, Tripoli, his militias have been forced to retreat in some strategic locations such as Sirte or the capital's airport, which has been closed since 2014 and is one of the key positions to defend the city through the southern axis.

The National Accord Government (GNA), based in the capital, backed by the Muslim Brothers and Italy and internationally recognized by the United Nations, receives military aid from Turkey and Qatar, while the LNA is supported by Russia, Egypt, the Arab Emirates, France and Saudi Arabia, among others. In response to the LNA's progress over the past year, the Tripoli government led by Fayez Sarraj launched Operation Storm of Peace to counter the attacks that were destroying the country's capital. 

Combatientes leales al Gobierno del Acuerdo Nacional (GNA) en la ciudad costera de Sabratha, el 13 de abril de 2020, después de que se apoderaran de dos ciudades costeras entre Trípoli y la frontera con Túnez

Chaos and instability have conquered Libya since the death of Muammar Gaddafi. Since then, two rival administrations have coexisted in the country, one in the east and the other in the east, which are unable to reach an agreement and which control different areas of a state, characterized by tribalism and its oil fields. Recent events and the presence of Ankara in this region have made Egypt react. In the last hours it presented an initiative to end the conflict that is devastating the North African nation; an initiative that would force "respect for international efforts and declare a ceasefire in Libya", a cessation of hostilities that, in the words of the Egyptian leader, will begin at six o'clock this Monday morning. 

Al Sisi announced this plan after meeting at the Federal Palace with Aqila Saleh and Field Marshal Haftar, in the presence of Lieutenant General Mohamed Zaki, the Egyptian Defence Minister, Abbas Kamel, the head of Egyptian Intelligence, Ali Abdel Al, the head of the Egyptian Parliament, and Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, according to a spokesman for this body to the media Al Ain. 

For its part the UN Security Council, at a meeting by video conference on 5 June, announced that it had unanimously decided to extend by one year the authorisations for member states to inspect vessels on the high seas that are suspected of violating the arms embargo imposed on Libya. These measures thus allow Member States or regional organisations to inspect vessels bound for or leaving Libya, where there are reasonable grounds to believe that they are violating the Council's arms embargo.

Miembros del Ejército Nacional libio (LNA), comandados por Jalifa Haftar, se preparan antes de salir de Bengasi para reforzar las tropas que avanzan hacia Trípoli

Meanwhile, international organisations such as Amnesty International have denounced the various war crimes and other human rights violations that have been committed in the country between 13 April and 1 June, during the latest wave of fighting that has devastated much of the country's capital. After analysing a series of testimonies, photographs and other graphic documents, this institution has called on the warring parties to put an immediate end to the attacks on civilians. "Civilians are once again paying the price for this war, as all sides intensify attacks and commit other serious violations that show utter disregard for the laws of war and for people's lives," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"We call on all parties to the conflict and affiliated militias and armed groups to immediately stop indiscriminate attacks and other serious violations against civilians. Commanders must publicly condemn these acts. Countries such as Turkey and Russia must stop violating the UN arms embargo," he said in an official statement. The political, social and economic situation in this country and the military intervention of Russia and Turkey, in defence of their own interests, have generated a truly complex scenario, a context that makes any effort to find a political solution to one of the cruellest conflicts of the 21st century difficult.  

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