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Libya Will Have ‘One Government,’ Haftar Says of ‘Imminent Breakthrough’

A poster of Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar on a building in Benghazi, Libya February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo
A poster of Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar on a building in Benghazi, Libya February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo
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Libya Will Have ‘One Government,’ Haftar Says of ‘Imminent Breakthrough’

A poster of Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar on a building in Benghazi, Libya February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo
A poster of Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar on a building in Benghazi, Libya February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo

Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar has revealed that Libya’s political crisis will be resolved this month through a deal on a single government.

“Within the coming weeks, Libya will witness a breakthrough in its political crisis,” local media quoted Haftar as saying. “Libyans will have a single cabinet this month.”

Haftar made his remarks on Saturday at the first forum on the future of Libyan youth in Benghazi, where he stressed the importance of empowering youths and giving them pioneering roles.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said Haftar and the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, are closer to finding a power-sharing agreement that would break the political deadlock in the country.

“What is new is that we see signs that an understanding is possible exactly to overcome the contradiction you raised,” Guterres said in response to a reporter’s question on the dispute over civilian oversight of the military.

The UN seeks to reach a power-sharing deal between Haftar and Sarraj, in which the main obstacle is whether Haftar is capable of leading a Libyan army under a civilian oversight that would be part of the new national government.

Moreover, the African Union will host a reconciliation conference in July aimed at uniting Libya’s political rivals, said African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki.

“It’s an opportunity for the Libyans,” Faki said during a press conference.

The announcement of the July talks in Addis Ababa followed a meeting on Libya.“It’s high time that the political actors discuss the fate of their country,” Faki added.

Further, the Central Committee for Municipal Elections (CCMCE) called on the people to vote en masse in the municipal elections, after the first stage of voting was concluded in nine municipalities.

CCMCE extended gratitude to international and local partners, revealing that there was a 33 percent turnout, according to its official website.

But Salem bin Tahia, head of the Central Committee, said there was a 38 percent turnout. Local elections will be held every Saturday until 33 councils hold their elections, then work will resume after Ramadan, he added.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.