General Khalifa Haftar is again warning that he may move to war in Libya as the stalemate continues. Oil is still miraculously pumping, but that may not last, despite Turkey’s meddling.
Turkey has now endorsed the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) under current interim prime minister Dbeibah. This has angered Egypt. In the east, parliament appointed Fatih Bashagha as prime minister. It all led to a stalemate, with Dbeibah refusing to step down though his term had technically ended, and with Bashaghga failing to take Tripoli and losing some crucial militia loyalty in the process. Now, there is talk of a third government, provoking a stalemate that’s just waiting to explode.
The creation of a third government, ostensibly to unify all Libyans, is the brainchild of Ageela Saleh, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and Khaled Mishri, the head of the High State Council. The two are conspiring to “unify” the country’s two governments.
Now, Haftar is sending warnings to Turkey that he is willing to wage a “decisive war” to “liberate” the country. “All peaceful efforts aimed at leading to the withdrawal of the occupiers have failed. We have no choice but to wage a decisive battle, no matter the cost and time, without hesitation and with all our might,” he said.
Haftar accuses Turkey of attempting to colonize Libya and resolve its own crises by exploiting the country. But…
General Khalifa Haftar is again warning that he may move to war in Libya as the stalemate continues. Oil is still miraculously pumping, but that may not last, despite Turkey’s meddling.
Turkey has now endorsed the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) under current interim prime minister Dbeibah. This has angered Egypt. In the east, parliament appointed Fatih Bashagha as prime minister. It all led to a stalemate, with Dbeibah refusing to step down though his term had technically ended, and with Bashaghga failing to take Tripoli and losing some crucial militia loyalty in the process. Now, there is talk of a third government, provoking a stalemate that’s just waiting to explode.
The creation of a third government, ostensibly to unify all Libyans, is the brainchild of Ageela Saleh, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and Khaled Mishri, the head of the High State Council. The two are conspiring to “unify” the country’s two governments.
Now, Haftar is sending warnings to Turkey that he is willing to wage a “decisive war” to “liberate” the country. “All peaceful efforts aimed at leading to the withdrawal of the occupiers have failed. We have no choice but to wage a decisive battle, no matter the cost and time, without hesitation and with all our might,” he said.
Haftar accuses Turkey of attempting to colonize Libya and resolve its own crises by exploiting the country. But just as he threatened war, Haftar also vowed to help facilitate the work of the UN envoy as long as he deems it in the interests of the Libyan people and not external forces.
If Haftar declares war, it could mean blocking the oil - again. But this time it will be much more difficult for Haftar to absorb the financial blow of halted oil. He doesn’t have the level of external financial backing he had previously and is coming at this from a weakened position.
But while Haftar is threatening Turkey, he, too, has an external benefactor who is not happy with Turkey’s recent play for Libyan oil. That benefactor is Egypt, and Egypt is opposed to the comprehensive energy deal Turkey and Libya signed recently for oil and gas exploration onshore and offshore. From Egypt’s perspective, this signals Turkey’s support for Dbeibah, and Egypt is now appearing to meddle to balance this out.
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