14 months after he launched his offensive on Libya’s capital Tripoli, the influential General Chalifa Haftar is apparently ready for a ceasefire. Haftar agreed to a proposal, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced yesterday after talks in Cairo.
Sisi, who militarily supports Haftar in the neighboring country of Libya, says he wants to end the fighting with a political initiative. The ceasefire is scheduled to start at 6 a.m. tomorrow. Sisi announced the move after a meeting with Haftar and Aquila Saleh, President of Parliament based in Eastern Libya, who supports Haftar.
However, no representative of the internationally recognized government of Prime Minister Fajis al-Sarradsch was present at the talks. It is unlikely that the Cairo announcement will bring the fighting in Libya to a quick end.
A spokesman for the Sarraj government reacted negatively. „We don’t have the time to watch a war criminal’s heresies via satellite channels,“ said Mohammed Gnunu, referring to Haftar. „We did not start this war, but we are the ones who determine the time and place of its end.“ Meanwhile, government troops continued to advance to the coastal city of Sirte.
