These Are Reasons For Washington’s Annoyance Over Haftar’s Closure Of Border Crossing With Algeria
The United States of America expressed its dismay at Haftar’s militias’ closure of a border crossing with Algeria, and described the measure as unilateral and does not enjoy the support of the international community.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood said that Haftar’s militias’ closure of a border crossing with Algeria “does not enjoy the support of the international community.”
This statement denied allegations of giving Washington any green or even orange light to move towards the Algerian border.
Anadolu Agency published an analysis explaining the reason for the American rejection of Haftar’s movements near the Algerian border, in which the US Assistant Secretary of State, Haftar reminded that “according to the roadmap of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, the Presidential Council is supposed to carry out the actions of the Supreme Commander of the Libyan army, in accordance with Libyan legislation.”
This statement made during the Berlin 2 conference was another strong message to Haftar, that his militias should be subject to the authority of the Presidential Council, in its capacity as the supreme commander of the Libyan army, and that moving his armed units from the east to the far southwest, despite the orders of the Presidential Council “forbidding the relocation of military units,” constitutes a departure from the UN-backed Libyan legitimacy.
The US official also drew Haftar’s attention to the fact that “the so-called Libyan National Army (Haftar’s militias) has supported the roadmap process so far, and it must continue to do so, especially with regard to the upcoming elections slated for next December in Libya.”
The analysis stated that one of the goals of Haftar’s militia movements is to pressure the local and international parties participating in the Berlin Second Conference, with the aim of recognizing him as a major party in the field, despite his lack of any official political or military status.
His plans to run for the presidency of the country collide with the insistence of the majority of the members of the Political Dialogue Forum, on the requirement that presidential candidates have no dual nationality, which is not available in Haftar and his sons who hold American citizenship.
The analysis also indicated that Haftar is trying, through his military maneuvers by moving his militias towards the borders, to hint at his ability to shuffle the cards again in the event that he is denied a candidacy for the presidency for any reason, even if by fabricating “limited confrontations” with Algeria, to mobilize popular sympathy towards a “foreign enemy,” and confuse the political scene and this might leads to the cancellation or postponement of the planned elections.
It considered that the Essin / Tin El Kom crossing, located in the far southwest of Libya in a remote desert area, closed since 2011 by Algeria, is not of strategic importance to it.
The source explained that the most affected by the closure of the Essin / Tin El Kom crossing are the local Tuareg residents in Ghat and Ubari, and the crossing represents an outlet for them to the outside world, in light of the distance from the capital, Tripoli (about 1,350 km), and the marginalization of the area by Haftar’s militias, might set the local Tuareg on them.
It was also recalled that the second Berlin Conference, which was held on June 23rd 2021, although Haftar was not mentioned by name, but it threatened to impose sanctions on those obstructing the elections and jeopardizing the security, stability of the country, as well as violators of human rights.
The Berlin 2 conference bolstered the legitimacy of the Libyan Presidential Council and the Libyan unity government, and affirmed its support for them, which further tightened the noose on Haftar’s militias, and this showed the latter as undisciplined armed groups that are about to break out of the Libyan and international consensus with the necessity of holding elections on time under the supervision of the government, which Parliament bestowed with almost unanimous confidence.
The statements of the US Assistant Secretary of State come to increase pressure on Haftar, as the main party obstructing the planned elections, and for the country’s exit from its transitional phase, which has taken 10 years so far.