Conflict between regional powers continues to fuel Libyan crisis
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The withdrawal of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri from the 158th ordinary session of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level on Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt, in protest against the chairmanship of the meeting by Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangouch, reveals the persistence of the struggle for influence between regional powers, particularly Cairo and Ankara, after Russia stepped aside due to the war in Ukraine.
Libya has succeeded Lebanon for six months in chairing the current session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level.
Shukri and his accompanying delegation withdrew from the opening session of the 158th ordinary session of the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers after the Lebanese Foreign Minister, who chaired the previous session of the Council of Arab Ministers, finished his speech and handed over to Al-Mangouch.
The spokesman of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Hafedh, said "the Egyptian delegation left the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the League of Arab States with the assumption by Al-Mangouch (Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of National Unity) of the presidency, assuring that this is an expression by Egypt of a reservation about the assumption of the presidency by a representative of a government whose mandate had ended.
In response, Al-Mangouch said "she respects the position of the Egyptian minister, but she does not agree with him".
Al-Mangouch told reporters that her presence "is supported by the international community, since the government of national unity is the internationally recognized transitional government in Libya within the framework of the Berlin process and the Paris conference".
But beyond these formal explanations, this withdrawal of Egypt reflects the resurgence of the conflict between Cairo and Ankara over the Libyan file, each trying to preserve its interests in this rich oil country of North Africa.
This is in line with the context that currently prevails in Libya marked by the return to the division of institutions following the postponement of elections last December, leading to a deadlock in the political process.
This followed the emergence of two governments, the one appointed by the Libyan Parliament of the Prime Minister, Fathi Bachagha, who wants to take office in Tripoli instead of Sirte (Centre) where he currently operates, and the national unity government of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba, which emerged from the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum under the auspices of the United Nations and which refuses to hand over power to an elected authority.
Egypt, which is allied to the eastern region of Libya that borders it, through the speaker of the Parliament, Aguila Saleh, and the head of the Libyan National Army, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has supported the Bachagha government from Misrata in the west, but has formed an alliance with the two main actors of the eastern region.
Turkey, which supported the western region and helped repel Haftar's April 2019 attack on Tripoli and the western region although it has made a rapprochement with the parliament and the eastern region, still continues to support the national unity government.
The latest clashes in Tripoli on 27 August, which left 44 dead and 159 injured, have rekindled tension in the country and fuelled competition between these two regional powers involved in the Libyan issue, especially after reports of the use of Turkish drones in the battle between supporters of the two governments in the Libyan capital, which turned out in favour of the Al-Dbaiba government.
The al-Dbaiba government expelled other armed formations that were hostile to him from the city.
Commenting on the incident of the withdrawal of Egyptian Foreign Minister Shukri from the Arab League session, Libyan political analyst Ali Moujahid wrote: "We reiterate for the millionth time that the suffocating crisis in Libya is in fact a conflict, sometimes declared, sometimes undeclared, between Cairo and Ankara standing behind it and triggered by international, regional and even other dwarf forces."
In a post on his Facebook page entitled: "Once again, the Libyan crisis is a struggle between Cairo and Ankara", Mr. Moujahid stressed that "the Libyan crisis is a struggle between Cairo and Ankara".
Moujahid stressed that "Egypt is still working on the military control project to secure its interests in Libya, and its interests have increased after the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis, which threatens Egypt with thirst and at least water rationing, while Turkey is working to secure its interests through access to Libyan waters to be a strong partner in energy resources in the Mediterranean".
Therefore, he added, "neither Egypt nor Turkey can be neutral parties in the Libyan crisis or a neutral arena in which the so-called Libyan leaders who do not deviate from the allegiance to Cairo and Ankara, negotiate.
He recalled that Egypt and Russia are the only two countries that recognize the Bachagha government.
Indeed, this reality was amplified by the fact that no other country present at the 158th session of the Arab League Council withdrew from the Cairo meeting.
-0- PANA BY/IS/BBA/RA 7Sept2022
