Fears of the Return of Divisions in Libya

May 4, 2021

The prevention of the landing of a plane carrying the protection and protocol personnel of the Dbaiba government coming to hold an expanded meeting, by a group affiliated with Major General Khalifa Haftar, caused fears of a return to the old Libyan conflict scenario.

Last Wednesday, April 28, 2021, the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar’s forces called on the Libyan Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid al-Dbaiba, to submit a “clear and frank” apology for a statement in which he said that “Benghazi will return to the homeland’s bosom.”

These tensions between Dbaiba and Benghazi are fueling fears of a return to division in Libya. The annual US intelligence report, known as the annual threat assessment, revealed that “the situation in Libya may flare up at any moment this year despite the limited political, economic and security progress in the country.”

The report, issued by the US Senate Intelligence Committee, continued that instability in Libya will continue, and the military conflict may erupt at any moment, and the situation will get out of control and spill over into a wider conflict.

The report added, “The Libyan factions are struggling to resolve their disagreements, but foreign powers are still continuing to exercise their influence inside Libya”, indicating at the same time that it is likely that foreign powers will continue their financial and military support to their proxies, and there will be a potential flashpoint regarding whether Turkey is committed to the ceasefire brokered by the United Nations in October 2020, which calls for the departure of the mercenaries.

Dbaiba Warns of Igniting War Again

For his part, Abd al-Hamid al-Dbaiba warned of attempts to re-ignite war in the country, stressing that his government was unable to enter the city of Sirte because of the mercenaries.

This came during his meeting with ministers, members of Parliament and notables from the suburb of Tajoura, east of the capital, Tripoli, Thursday, April 30^th, explaining that today “we can say that the war is over, but there are those who seek to ignite it again,” without mentioning a specific party, he called on the Libyans not to push their children to war again.

And earlier this month, in parallel with American and European calls, the head of the national unity government in Libya requested support from the international community to get the mercenaries out of Libya.

It is worth noting that the parallel government in eastern Libya handed over, on March 23, 2021, its powers to the new national unity government headed by Abdel Hamid al-Dbaiba, announcing the end of the division phase.

On February 5, the Political Dialogue Forum elected a unified executive authority headed by Abdel Hamid al-Dbaiba to head the government, and Muhammad al-Manfi to head the Presidency Council, whose primary mission is to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24, 2021.