By: Kayhan Int’l
The crisis plaguing Libya over the past nine years since the fall of dictator Mu’ammar Qadhafi by the same western powers that had placed him as strongman in 1969 by toppling King Idris who was on a state visit to Turkey, is threatening to fragment and destroy the oil-rich North African country.
The ongoing civil war that has left a trail of death and destruction is not because the Libyan people are deeply divided, but because of the meddling in Libya by foreign parties which are trying to fish in muddy waters.
If let to themselves, the Muslim people of Libya are capable of resolving their differences through inter-party talks, but those with vested interests, such as the US and its client Arab states, do not want peace.
Saudi Arabia and UAE, after having failed to topple President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, are now backing the rebel general, Khalifa Haftar – a CIA agent – and to avoid another defeat for their misadventure, are now trying to drag in Egypt, or more properly President General Abdul-Fattah as-Sisi whom they had placed on the ‘throne’ of Cairo in 2013 after backstabbing the only democratically elected president in Egyptian history, Mohammed Morsi.
It appears as if General Sisi, who is a friend of the illegal Zionist entity, has taken the bait and is threatening to invade Libya following the failure of Haftar to take Tripoli and retreat as much as 300 miles east to Sirte, hotly pursued by forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA).
Observers, however, believe the Egyptian strongman is simply bluffing in a bid to boost the sagging morale of Haftar and his so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), rather than think of falling into the quagmire, especially since the legal UN-recognized government in Tripoli is practically backed by Turkey, whose president Rajab Tayyeb Erdoghan has refused to recognize Sisi’s rule following the downfall of Morsi.
Ankara, which considers itself as heir to the Ottoman Empire that used to rule from Istanbul most of Arab North Africa, including Egypt and the two Vilayats (provinces) of Benghazi and Tripoli – seized by Fascist Italy in 1911 and named together as Libya – is determined to defeat the designs of what it views as upstart regimes in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
In other words, Sisi might not take the risk of direct confrontation with Erdoghan, given the fragile state of the Egyptian economy and his own weak position as a head of state clinging to power with the help of reactionary Arab regimes and Israel, rather than the will and vote of the Egyptian people.
Ironically, Italy, which had seized Libya from the Turks and ruled it till its defeat in World War 2 1943, is on the side of the GNA, along with Turkey, while France is inclined towards Haftar’s LNA.
Now with Haftar, hovering on the horns of defeat with prospects of losing not just Sirte but Benghazi as well and end up as a refugee in either Cairo or Riyadh, if not the US, European powers are calling for cessation of hostilities and inter-party Libyan talks.
Such talks may or may not end the crisis and civil war in Libya, but there is little choice for the European powers to salvage their credibility in view of the highly complicated situation.
For the moment the two opposing Libyan sides are now squared off on the outskirts of Sirte, where Qadhafi was captured and killed in 2011, and in light of the growing risks of a deterioration of the situation, France, Germany and Italy are calling on all Libyan parties to immediately and unconditionally cease fighting.
They do not favour Egyptian intervention and believe that only the Berlin Peace Process worked out a couple of years ago, remains the only viable framework – provided Turkey is not determined to press ahead with the victory lap of the GNA all the way till the Egyptian borders.
The ongoing civil war that has left a trail of death and destruction is not because the Libyan people are deeply divided, but because of the meddling in Libya by foreign parties which are trying to fish in muddy waters.
If let to themselves, the Muslim people of Libya are capable of resolving their differences through inter-party talks, but those with vested interests, such as the US and its client Arab states, do not want peace.
Saudi Arabia and UAE, after having failed to topple President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, are now backing the rebel general, Khalifa Haftar – a CIA agent – and to avoid another defeat for their misadventure, are now trying to drag in Egypt, or more properly President General Abdul-Fattah as-Sisi whom they had placed on the ‘throne’ of Cairo in 2013 after backstabbing the only democratically elected president in Egyptian history, Mohammed Morsi.
It appears as if General Sisi, who is a friend of the illegal Zionist entity, has taken the bait and is threatening to invade Libya following the failure of Haftar to take Tripoli and retreat as much as 300 miles east to Sirte, hotly pursued by forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA).
Observers, however, believe the Egyptian strongman is simply bluffing in a bid to boost the sagging morale of Haftar and his so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), rather than think of falling into the quagmire, especially since the legal UN-recognized government in Tripoli is practically backed by Turkey, whose president Rajab Tayyeb Erdoghan has refused to recognize Sisi’s rule following the downfall of Morsi.
Ankara, which considers itself as heir to the Ottoman Empire that used to rule from Istanbul most of Arab North Africa, including Egypt and the two Vilayats (provinces) of Benghazi and Tripoli – seized by Fascist Italy in 1911 and named together as Libya – is determined to defeat the designs of what it views as upstart regimes in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
In other words, Sisi might not take the risk of direct confrontation with Erdoghan, given the fragile state of the Egyptian economy and his own weak position as a head of state clinging to power with the help of reactionary Arab regimes and Israel, rather than the will and vote of the Egyptian people.
Ironically, Italy, which had seized Libya from the Turks and ruled it till its defeat in World War 2 1943, is on the side of the GNA, along with Turkey, while France is inclined towards Haftar’s LNA.
Now with Haftar, hovering on the horns of defeat with prospects of losing not just Sirte but Benghazi as well and end up as a refugee in either Cairo or Riyadh, if not the US, European powers are calling for cessation of hostilities and inter-party Libyan talks.
Such talks may or may not end the crisis and civil war in Libya, but there is little choice for the European powers to salvage their credibility in view of the highly complicated situation.
For the moment the two opposing Libyan sides are now squared off on the outskirts of Sirte, where Qadhafi was captured and killed in 2011, and in light of the growing risks of a deterioration of the situation, France, Germany and Italy are calling on all Libyan parties to immediately and unconditionally cease fighting.
They do not favour Egyptian intervention and believe that only the Berlin Peace Process worked out a couple of years ago, remains the only viable framework – provided Turkey is not determined to press ahead with the victory lap of the GNA all the way till the Egyptian borders.
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