Libyan military leaders refuse to attend Algiers dialogue without consulting General Hafter

A member of the Libyan Parliament’s Defense Committee, based in the city of Tobrouk, Tareq Jarouchi, has affirmed that Algeria made a set of proposals to military leaders loyal to the so-called “Dignity operation”, within the Libyan army with the aim of securing their participation in the next round of the dialogue between the various Libyan parties at issue in Algiers but so far to no avail.

The first and second rounds of the dialogue sessions brought together a host of Libyan political and independent personalities and produced a tentative agreement to settle the Libyan crisis through peaceful means with on focus the projected formation of a national unity government and the implementation of reliable security arrangements aimed at ensuring the cessation of hostilities across the Libyan territory.

Tareq Jarouchi said in a statement to “Echorouk” that a number of Libyan military leaders turned down Algeria’s proposal and others were still undecided, stressing that the Libyan Parliament’s Defense Committee would not accept any involvement in such a dialogue except with the prior consent of retired Libyan Army General Khalifa Haftar who is solely entitled to specify the profile of the participants if any.

The Libyan Parliament’s member added that any participant in the ongoing dialogue spearheaded by Algeria, from the military leadership without the consent of the Libyan army command itself “represents only himself and will be the subject of prosecution from the relevant authorities”, as he put it.

In October, the Tobrouk-based parliament allied to this “dignity operation” branded Libya Dawn forces, led by Misrata-based militias, as terrorists. One way to construe this is that Operation Dignity, led by retired General Khalifa Haftar, intends to use the ceasefire as a cover for combat operations, rather than to promote a climate conducive to dialogue, as the UN envoy had urged.

This is consistent with remarks by Colonel Ahmed Al-Mismari, spokesman for the chief-of-staffs appointed by the parliament currently sitting in Tobruk. Speaking at a press conference, Al-Mismari said that the fighting against terrorists would continue in Benghazi and Derna.

The forces of Libya Dawn, which are fighting in western Libya, and the forces of Operation Sunrise, fighting in the area of the oil ports and petroleum crescent in central Libya, were one step ahead of Operation Dignity. They announced a ceasefire only hours after the first round of talks in Geneva ad ended, according to a press statement by the official spokesman for the Libya Shield forces in the central zone, Ahmed Hadiya.

“Libya Dawn forces stress that their decision to halt hostilities was taken in conformity with and out of respect for the dialogue held in Geneva,” he said. “However, they reserve the right to respond to any assaults to which they might be subjected during the difficult negotiating process in Geneva without referring to any agency whatsoever.”

Nevertheless, Libyan sources close to Libya Dawn told reporters  that Hadiya is close to one of the members of parliament who is boycotting the parliamentary sessions in Tobruk, the business magnate Fathy Bashagha, and that Hadiya issued the statement to the press on the basis of instructions from Bashagha, without first referring to the field commanders of the Libya Dawn and Operation Sunrise forces.