Libya’s internationally recognized interior ministry accused France yesterday of supporting eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and said it would halt cooperation with Paris.
“Any dealings with the French side in bilateral security agreements” will halt, the Tripoli-based interior ministry said in a statement. But in its response, France said it supported the United Nations-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA).
“As we have already stated on several occasions: France supports the legitimate government of Prime Minister (Fayez al-)Serraj and the mediation of the UN for an inclusive political solution in Libya,” a French presidential official said. “Furthermore, the president’s legitimate interlocutor is Prime Minister Serraj, with whom the president spoke on Monday to reaffirm this support.”
Meanwhile, UN’s Libya envoy warned yesterday of “a widening conflagration” in the North African country, saying international divisions had encouraged strongman Haftar to launch his assault on Tripoli. But for now, Ghassan Salame told AFP in an exclusive interview, there was “deadlock” in fighting south of the capital between Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) and the internationally recognised government.
“After the very first successes of the Libyan National Army two weeks ago, we are witnessing a military deadlock,” he said. Fighting broke out on April 4 when Haftar and his LNA, based in the country’s east, launched an offensive to take Tripoli, the western seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
Haftar’s offensive forced the UN to postpone a national conference that was to draw up a roadmap to elections in a bid to turn the page on years of chaos since the 2011 ouster of Moamer Kadhafi. The fighting has so far left at least 205 people dead and more than 900 wounded, the World Health Organization said yesterday.