The United Nationa Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) urged both parties to refrain from military escalation that would destroy the possibility of a political solution. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire after earlier talks but the internationally-recognized Tobruk government and its main military supporter the forces of CIA-linked General Khalifa Haftar claimed that the ceasefire did not include pursuing terrorists. Haftar continued fighting against opponents in Benghazi and elsewhere. The other side replied by also continuing the struggle in some areas. Most recent violence is from groups claiming allegiance to the Islamic State.
They have carried out gruesome beheadings of Egyptian Coptiic Christains, suicide attacks and lately attacks on oil fields. Haftar’s forces carried out an attack on an airport in Tripoli just a few hours before the latest talks began but said he would refrain from attacks for three days during the talks. The internationally recognized government of Prme Minister Abdullah al-Thinni is located in the eastern city of Tobruk and is supported by Haftar and what were formerly his militia. His militia are now part of the official armed forces and he has been made commander of chief of the army. He seems to have a great deal of power over the government..The competing government supported by Islamists and others is located in Tripoli and the prime minister is Omar al-Hasi. Groups loyal to the Islamic State have attacked in areas controlled by Tripoli as well as by Tobruk. They are not involved in the peace talks. In fact they seem determined to wage war against all sides.
According to the UNSMIL one side had presented proposals that were not on the agenda. The UN sponsors said that such proposals harmed the process of building trust: “In the interest of transparency and safeguarding the integrity of the on-going dialogue process and the commitments made by the various delegations taking part in the talks, UNSMIL urges all dialogue participants to refrain from making proposals outside the frameworks of these talks”
The UN also noted that any military actions by any side would put into question their sincerity in attending the talks. It mentioned specifically attacks on airports but also the suicide bombing by the Islamic State in revenge for Egyptian bombing of their bases in Derna after the Islamic State beheaded Egyptian Coptic Christians:
The three day talks concluded on March 7th There was a pause to allow the representatives to consult on further plans to resolve the ongoing military and political crisis in Libya. Talks are set to resume on Wednesday March 11. The UN said that the parties must seize on the momentum produced by the dialogue in order to end the instability and insecurity that plagues the country.
This may be difficult to accomplish as the Tobruk government and General Khalifa Haftar insist that they are fighting terrorism. As in Egypt, Haftar considers most if not all of his enemies terrorist. The Tobruk government has been trying to have the arms embargo lifted so as to receive more arms for its own forces. To lift the embargo would in effect be choosing to side with Tobruk in what could become an outright civil war between the competing governments.
In the statement , as mentioned earlier, the UNSMIL refers to the suicide bombings in the town of Al Qubbah near Derna that killed at least 45 persons and also an apparent attack near the home of the Libyan Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR). However, these attacks were claimed to be by the Islamic State((IS) in revenge for Egyptian bombing of the city of Derna which IS controls. “In its statement, UNSMIL said that the escalation called into question “the commitment of those responsible behind these latest acts of aggression while also calling on all parties “to continue to engage constructively with the dialogue process.”
This is a puzzling statement. The IS is not taking part in the dialogue process so whose commitment is being called into question? Did the Tobruk side claim that the attacks were by parties associated with the Tripoli government? The IS has attacked them as well.
UN statements are always guarded and often deliberately opaque. Notice that the UN does not say which side presented proposals that were outside the agreed agenda and what they were. Why on earth cannot we not be informed of what the proposals were and who presented them? My guess is that it was the Tobruk side which has all along emphasized the fight against terrorism. It wants to discuss that and about pursuing that fight rather than any real negotiation with the Tripoli government. The mass media seem uninterested in analysis of what is going on at these talks. Indeed, there is very little reporting at all. What is newsworthy is IS beheadings of some security guards when they attack an oil field. The news media promotes a pornography of violence rather than any understanding of what is happening in the world.
