Meeting Between Arab League, Libyan Delegation Fails

Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord take a position during clashes with forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar south of Tripoli. AFP file photo
Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord take a position during clashes with forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar south of Tripoli. AFP file photo
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Meeting Between Arab League, Libyan Delegation Fails

Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord take a position during clashes with forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar south of Tripoli. AFP file photo
Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord take a position during clashes with forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar south of Tripoli. AFP file photo

A meeting held in Cairo on Sunday between a number of Libyan lawmakers and the Arab League General Secretariat failed to produce any results after the visiting delegation rejected the organization’s support for the Skhirat agreement.

Arab diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the MPs said the parliament, which has been elected by the people, should be considered a legitimate institution and not a “trusteeship” council imposed by the international community, in reference to the Presidential Council in Tripoli.

A League Secretariat source “regretted what some members did upon their arrival at the headquarters,” saying it was clear that a number of deputies deliberately wanted for the meeting to fail.

“The League is doing its best to reach a peaceful and consensual solution for the Libyan crisis,” asserted the source.

The Libyan parliament delegation arrived in Cairo two days ago and met with the Egyptian National Committee on Libya, which includes representatives from most Egyptian “sovereign” sides.

The meetings are part of a series of talks hosted in Cairo to bring together different Libyan parties for the sake of achieving stability and security in the war-torn state. The committee invited around 80 Libyan lawmakers representing the country’s west, south and east.

The committee's discussions aim to unify Libyan powers, and consolidate the Libyan Parliament’s role in restructuring the country.



Lebanon Returns 70 Officers and Soldiers to Syria, Security Official Says

A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
TT

Lebanon Returns 70 Officers and Soldiers to Syria, Security Official Says

A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)

Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the country illegally via informal routes, a Lebanese security official and a war monitor said.

Many senior Syrian officials and people close to the former ruling family of Bashar al-Assad fled the country to neighboring Lebanon after Assad's regime was toppled on Dec 8.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based organization with sources in Syria, and the Lebanese security official said Syrian military personnel of various ranks had been sent back via Lebanon's northern Arida crossing.

SOHR and the security official said the returnees were detained by Syria's new ruling authorities after crossing the border.

The new administration has been undertaking a major security crackdown in recent days on what they say are "remnants" of the Assad regime.

Several of the cities and towns concerned, including in Homs and Tartous provinces, are near the porous border with Lebanon.

The Lebanese security official said the Syrian officers and soldiers were found in a truck in the northern coastal city of Jbeil after an inspection by local officials.

Lebanese and Syrian government officials did not immediately respond to written requests for comment on the incident.

Reuters reported on Friday that Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of Assad charged in Switzerland with war crimes over the bloody suppression of a revolt in 1982, had flown out of Beirut recently, as had "many members" of the Assad family.

Earlier this month, Lebanese caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said top Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban had flown out of Beirut after entering Lebanon legally.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, Mawlawi said other Syrian officials had entered Lebanon illegally and were being pursued.