Libya crisis: Algeria’s emissary expected in Tripoli and Benghazi after Eid Al Adha

The Algerian government has postponed the Libyan dialogue it planned to host in late September, rescheduling it for one week later, probably for after the upcoming Aid El Adha religious feast. The delay comes as Bernadino Leon, UN envoy to Libya and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), continues to meet with warring factions in western Libya.

Libyan sources said that Algerian officials asked for a further week to give intermediaries more time to convince rival factions in Libya to come to the talks in Algiers. Some of the factions have expressed reservations over the presence of certain individuals at the planned talks.

Among those who scheduled to attend are Ahmed Qadhaf Al-Damm, former coordinator for Libyan-Egyptian relations during the Gaddafi era, retired General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of Operation Dignity, and General Ali Kana, a senior official from the Gaddafi regime.
Meanwhile, some sources attributed the delay to the fact that the talks, as originally scheduled, would have clashed with meetings between UN officials and Libyan authorities.

Media outlets quoted the head of Libya’s Watan (Nation) Party, Abdel Halim Belhajj, a former commander on the Libyan Combat Group and former chairman of the Military Council in Tripoli, as saying: “The decision to postpone is connected to gaining more time until all parties to the Libyan crisis respond to the invitation to take part in the all-inclusive meeting.”

Halim Belhajj described Algeria as “the country that was best poised to undertake a leading role in the region to solve the Libyan crisis that has swept the country, especially as it is the country that has been working to prevent military intervention and has taken a clear stance against NATO in this regard.”

On the question of the Libyan parties that support or oppose the talks in Algeria, Halim Belhajj was quoted as saying that the “Tobruk group” was reserved in its response to the Algerian initiative. The Libyan areas that border Egypt favour Egyptian initiatives, while areas that border Algeria and Tunisia support Algerian efforts, he said.

According to commanders of the “Libyan Dawn” operation, the Algerian-brokered talks were postponed after Libyan figures asked Algerian authorities to ask Egypt to allow them to travel to Algeria, which the Algerian authorities refused to do.

Last week, Libyan figures close to the “Ansar Al-Sharia” organisation reportedly refused to take part in the talks. Ansar Al-Sharia is part of the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries coalition, which is fighting the forces of retired General Haftar in Benghazi.

The group is said to have objected to the participation of Haftar, who they said should be prosecuted for having caused the current crisis in Libya. Algeria has indicated that Haftar’s participation might, indeed, be the factor that led to the delay of the talks.