Egypt’s Sisi Expresses Support to Interim Libya Govt

Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters file photo)
Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters file photo)
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Egypt’s Sisi Expresses Support to Interim Libya Govt

Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters file photo)
Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters file photo)

Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has given his support to a transitional government that would lead neighboring Libya through elections late this year.

In televised comments late Saturday, Sisi said the appointment of the interim government Friday, which includes a three-member Presidential Council and a prime minister, was “a step in the right direction.”

The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which includes 75 UN-picked delegates from across the country, appointed Mohammad Younes Menfi, a Libyan diplomat from the country’s east, as chairman of the Presidential Council. The forum also chose Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, a powerful businessman from the western city of Misrata, as prime minister.

The three council members each represent a region of old Libya: Tripolitania in the west, Cyrenaica in the east, and Fezzan in the southwest. The country’s divided parliament is tasked with confirming the new government within three weeks. If it fails to do so, the forum will confirm.

The appointment of an interim government caps months of UN-brokered talks that resulted in an agreement to hold elections Dec. 24.

“We are supportive of them. … We are ready to cooperate with them for Libya’s recovery and to prepare for the elections in Libya,” Sisi said.

The Egyptian leader said his threat last year to send troops to Libya helped “start a genuine period for peace” in the oil-rich country. Egypt views the instability in neighboring Libya as a national security threat.

In June, Sisi called Libya’s strategic coastal city of Sirte a “red line” and warned that any attack by Turkey-backed Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) forces on the city would prompt Egypt to intervene to protect its western border.

Sirte, which sits near Libya’s main oil-export terminals and fields, has been held by forces of Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar, who runs most of Libya’s eastern and southern regions.

The appointment of an interim government has been seen as a major — if uncertain — step toward unifying the North African nation.

US Ambassador Richard Norland on Saturday urged Dbeibah, the prime minister-elect, to “identify a small, competent, technocratic Cabinet team that can quickly be granted confidence” by the east Libya-based parliament.

An interim government would face towering challenges, including deteriorating living conditions and a surge in coronavirus cases.

The oil-rich country, with around 7 million people, has reported more than 124,000 cases, including 1,953 fatalities. However, the actual numbers of COVID-19 cases, like elsewhere in the world, are thought to be far higher, in part due to limited testing.

Other challenges include the dismantling of numerous heavily armed local militias and the presence of at least 20,000 mercenaries and foreign fighters who had fought in the fight for Tripoli.



Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
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Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)

A drone attack halted production at the Sarsang oilfield in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Tuesday only hours before its US operator signed a deal to develop another field.

The Sarsang field is operated by HKN Energy, a privately held US oil and gas company active in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and owned by Hillwood Energy, part of the Hillwood group founded by Ross Perot Jr.

Two hours after the morning attack, HKN Vice President Matthew Zais was in Baghdad with Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani to sign a preliminary agreement to develop the Himreen oilfield in northern Iraq, the oil ministry said, Reuters reported.

The signing ceremony was also attended by US Ambassador Steven Fagin, whose embassy condemned the drone attacks on oil infrastructure in the Kurdistan region and urged the Iraqi government to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.

Washington said such attacks undermine Iraq’s sovereignty and efforts to attract foreign investment.

Production at the Sarsang field was halted as a precautionary measure after an explosion, two engineers told Reuters.

Kurdistan regional authorities confirmed that the blast was from a drone attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi Kurdistan security sources said that initial investigations suggested that the drone came from areas under the control of Iran-backed militias.

Heavy plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Sarsang field in the Dohuk region of northern Iraq, said one oil engineer at the field.

Field operator HKN said that the halt to production was to allow firefighters to extinguish the fire, later adding that emergency response teams contained the damage.

There were no casualties, Iraqi Kurdistan's ministry of natural resources and HKN said.

The incident is under investigation and a full assessment of the damage has been initiated, the company said without providing further detail on the cause of the explosion.

On Monday two drones fell on the Khurmala oilfield near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, damaging the water pipes at the field.