US Security Adviser in Egypt for Talks on Libya

Egypt’s President Sisi meets with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. (Egypt presidency spokesman)
Egypt’s President Sisi meets with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. (Egypt presidency spokesman)
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US Security Adviser in Egypt for Talks on Libya

Egypt’s President Sisi meets with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. (Egypt presidency spokesman)
Egypt’s President Sisi meets with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. (Egypt presidency spokesman)

US President Joe Biden's national security adviser met Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday for talks aimed at ensuring Libya's December elections go ahead as planned, Sisi's office said.

Jake Sullivan travelled to Egypt as part of a Middle East tour that also includes stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In his meeting with Sisi, they spoke about "organizing the Libyan elections" as well as "the withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries" from the war-ravaged country and the "unification of its armed forces", the Egyptian leader's spokesman Bassem Radi said.

Sullivan's trip to Cairo comes around two weeks after Egypt separately hosted head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, and east-based Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar.

A UN-led process secured a landmark ceasefire in October last year, raising hopes that elections scheduled for December 24 can bring lasting peace to the country.

Controversy over an electoral law has threatened the process, however.

Parliamentary Speaker Aguila Saleh angered critics who charged that he bypassed due process and pushed through legislation favoring Haftar, who suspended his military activities last week in a step that could lead to a run for the presidency.

Sisi and Sullivan also discussed an Ethiopian mega-dam on the Nile that is causing tensions with downstream nations Egypt and Sudan.



Argentina Withdraws from UN Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon

 UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles ride along a street amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles ride along a street amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Argentina Withdraws from UN Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon

 UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles ride along a street amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles ride along a street amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Marjeyoun, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Argentina has notified the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon of its withdrawal from the force, a UNIFIL spokesperson said on Tuesday, in the first sign of cracks in the unity of the mission following attacks it has blamed on Israel.

The 10,000-strong United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping mission is deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor the demarcation line with Israel, an area where there have been hostilities between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters for over a year.

"Argentina has asked its officers to go back (to Argentina)," UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in response to a question about a newspaper report.

He declined to comment on the reason for their departure, referring the question to Argentina's government.

Argentina is one of 48 countries contributing peacekeepers to UNIFIL, with a total of three staff currently in Lebanon, a UN website showed. It did not immediately respond to Tenenti's comments.

UNIFIL has previously referred to "unacceptable pressures being exerted on the mission through various channels".

Peacekeepers have refused to leave their posts despite more than 20 injuries in the past two months and damage to facilities which UNIFIL blames on the Israeli military.

Israel has denied such incidents are deliberate attacks. Israel says UN troops provide a human shield for Hezbollah fighters and has told UNIFIL to evacuate from southern Lebanon for its own safety - a request that the force has rejected.

Tenenti said there was no broader indication of declining support for the mission.

"The idea is to stay. So there is no discussion of withdrawing at all," he said.

He said that its monitoring activities were "very, very limited" because of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and repairs to some of its facilities.

"We're still working on fixing some of the positions, but this has been definitely a very difficult moment, because we've been deliberately attacked by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) in recent months, and we're doing our utmost to rebuild the areas," he said.

Israel's military did not immediately comment on Tenenti's remarks.