Marshal Haftar: “I Highly Value The Positive Algerian Stance On Libyan Crisis”

The head of Algerian diplomacy Sabri Boukadoum met Wednesday with Marshal Khalifa Haftar, a strongman from eastern Libya, in his Benghazi stronghold, as part of Algiers’ mediation efforts between rival camps in Libya.

The two men discussed the “latest developments” in Libya as well as “Algeria’s role in supporting the return of stability” in the war-torn country, Marshal Haftar’s press office said.

In this respect, Marshal Haftar highly praised “the positive role of the Algerian state which is steadily striving to find a peaceful solution to the crisis” in Libya, it was added from the same source.

For his part, the Foreign Minister of the Toubruk government Abdel Hadi Al-Hawaij stated: “We welcome the Algerian mediation role, as it is a pivotal country”.

Algeria offered last Thursday in Brazzaville to host a “forum for national reconciliation” between the protagonists of the crisis in Libya, according to the African Union (AU) committee charged with “finding early solutions” to the conflict in this brotherly country.

Algeria, which shares nearly 1,000 km of border with Libya, has in recent weeks stepped up consultations in an attempt to work towards a consensual political solution to a lingering conflict that threatens regional stability.

Libya, which has the most abundant oil reserves in Africa, has been plunged into chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011 after a popular revolt and military intervention led by France, Britain and the United States.

Since April 2019, fighting has been taking place at the gates of Tripoli (west) between the troops of the UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNA) and the forces of Marshal Haftar, who have launched an offensive to take control of the capital, the headquarters of the GNA.

A very fragile ceasefire came into effect on 12 January and international efforts are under way notably by Algeria, to try to strengthen it.