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Haftar Mum on Libya Ceasefire Deal, GNA Calls for Mercenaries Pullout

A member of the troops loyal to the GNA rides a military vehicle as he prepares before heading to Sirte, on the outskirts of Misrata, on July 18. (Reuters)
A member of the troops loyal to the GNA rides a military vehicle as he prepares before heading to Sirte, on the outskirts of Misrata, on July 18. (Reuters)
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Haftar Mum on Libya Ceasefire Deal, GNA Calls for Mercenaries Pullout

A member of the troops loyal to the GNA rides a military vehicle as he prepares before heading to Sirte, on the outskirts of Misrata, on July 18. (Reuters)
A member of the troops loyal to the GNA rides a military vehicle as he prepares before heading to Sirte, on the outskirts of Misrata, on July 18. (Reuters)

Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar has yet to comment on the permanent nationwide ceasefire that was brokered by the United Nations earlier this week.

The accord, concluded after talks between military representatives of Fayez al-Sarraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) and the LNA in Geneva, will be followed by political discussions in Tunisia next month.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, informed Libyan sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the rival parties are beginning to implement the agreement on the ground.

LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said that Haftar has not commented on the truce and that he was awaiting his official statement.

Mismari also denied claims attributed to him that he had apologized for the LNA’s war on Tripoli last year and earlier this year.

On the other side of the divide, the GNA Defense Ministry called for the immediate withdrawal of all mercenaries from oil facilities and military positions in Libya in a gesture of goodwill ahead of their pullout from the country.

It warned that some mercenary groups deployed at oil fields and the al-Jufra base “may be out of control and will need to be dealt with carefully and firmly.”

The High Council of State warned on Friday of the possible violation of the ceasefire by “rebellious” forces – a reference to the LNA – that do not recognize the presence of mercenaries among their ranks.

Spokesmen for the GNA’s Volcano of Rage operation, Mohammed Qanunu expressed doubts that the ceasefire would hold.

Qanunu, who was present at the Geneva talks, was skeptical over the ceasefire that “does not call for holding to account those involved in the aggression against Tripoli and other cities in western Libya.”

Moreover, he questioned the LNA’s ability to have “more than 5,000 Wagner group mercenaries and others from Syria, Sudan and Chad” withdraw from Libya

“We don’t believe they have the power to make such a demand, meanwhile the Wagner group continues to set up bases and fortifications and dig up trenches,” he added.

He also demanded that the UN dispatch monitors to the central city of Sirte and Jufra, describing them as hotbeds for foreign mercenaries.

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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)

Politicians in Beirut said they have not received any credible information about Washington resuming its mediation efforts towards reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon despite reports to the contrary.

Efforts came to a halt after US envoy Amos Hochstein’s last visit to Beirut three weeks ago.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed the reports as media fodder, saying nothing official has been received.

Lebanon is awaiting tangible proposals on which it can build its position, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The only credible proposal on the table is United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, whose articles must be implemented in full by Lebanon and Israel, “not just Lebanon alone,” he stressed.

Resolution 1701 was issued to end the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel and calls for removing all weapons from southern Lebanon and that the only armed presence there be restricted to the army and UN peacekeepers.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri opposes one of the most important articles of the proposed solution to end the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He is opposed to the German and British participation in the proposed mechanism to monitor the implementation of resolution 1701. The other participants are the United States and France.

Other sources said Berri is opposed to the mechanism itself since one is already available and it is embodied in the UN peacekeepers, whom the US and France can join.

The sources revealed that the solution to the conflict has a foreign and internal aspect. The foreign one includes Israel, the US and Russia and seeks guarantees that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. The second covers Lebanese guarantees on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Berri refused to comment on the media reports, but told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the first time that discussions are being held about guarantees.

He added that “Israel is now in crisis because it has failed to achieve its military objectives, so it has resorted to more killing and destruction undeterred.”

He highlighted the “steadfastness of the UN peacekeepers in the South who have refused to leave their positions despite the repeated Israeli attacks.”