KEE: Libya will turn into an “arena” — a battlefield — between foreign powers
The head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) expressed his concern on Thursday that Libya will turn into an “arena” – a battlefield – between foreign forces, reacting to the information about the transfer of Russian weapons systems from Syrian territory to the eastern part of Libya. territory, controlled by Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
“We don’t want Libya to turn into an arena for settling international conflicts,” said Abdelhamid Dbayba, prime minister of the UN-recognized Tripoli-based GCC. He is the first Libyan official to speak publicly on this matter.
“No man with even an ounce of patriotism would accept a foreign power to come and impose its hegemony and power on the country and its people,” added Mr. Dbayba during a press conference.
Any foreign presence that is not part of the “framework of transnational agreements for training, advisory services or equipment” but concerns “forces that enter by force (into the territory), against the will of the Libyan people”, is unacceptable, “we reject it completely”, he added .
Mr. Dbayba did not confirm whether Russian weapons systems or other military equipment had actually been transferred to Libya, while the fate of Russia’s two bases in Syria remains entirely uncertain following the December 8 fall of Moscow-backed former president Bashar al-Assad.
Guido Crosetto, Italy’s defense minister, told La Repubblica newspaper on Tuesday that Moscow was “moving resources from its Syrian base in Tartus” in the direction of “Libya”.
Plunged into chaos after the fall and death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has two rival governments, that of Abdelhamid Dbayba in Tripoli (west) and that supported by Marshal Haftar (east).
Between April 2019 and June 2020, Marshal Haftar, with the support of foreign countries allied with him, notably Russia and Egypt, launched a large-scale offensive to capture Tripoli, which was stopped in extremis by loyalist forces in the CEE with the support of Turkey. Moscow has reportedly maintained a close relationship with Marshal Haftar ever since.
Source :Skai
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