Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Haftar, Italian Foreign Minister Discuss Libya Recent Developments


Thu 13 Feb 2020 | 08:34 PM
Nawal Sayed

The commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar held talks on Thursday with Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio near Benghazi, Libya. They discussed Libya's recent development and illegal migration.

“General Haftar and the Italian FM discussed ways of securing maritime borders, preventing terrorists and criminals crossing the Mediterranean Sea,” according to a statement by LNA media office.  

The two leaders were convened in the city of Ar Rajma, located 27 km east of Benghazi. 

Italian Foreign Minister Di Maio Visits Libya and Meets with Libyan National Army Commander Khalifa Haftar

Di Maio arrived on Wednesday in Tripoli where he met with Fayez al-Sarraj, head of so-called the Government of the National Accord (GNA). 

The spokesman for the LNA, Ahmed al Mismari, announced Thursday in a press conference that the UN will no longer be allowed to use Mitiga airport. 

“The UN will have to use other airports such as the one in Misrata,” Mismari said. “Since the LNA cannot ensure the safety of flights to and from Mitiga, as Turkey is using it as a base.”

Mismari added in a press conference that Turkey prepared a list of 229 terrorists in Syria to take them to Libya, noting that some of them arrived in Tripoli, and others are preparing to come to the capital.

Italian Foreign Minister Di Maio Visits Libya and Meets with Libyan National Army Commander Khalifa Haftar

Ankara continues to send Syrian fighters to Tripoli, in violation of its international obligations. It also continued its military support with drone aircraft and defense systems, apparently.

A truce was reached on January 12, and international powers pledged at a Berlin conference on January 19 to end their interference in Libya, encourage negotiations and respect the arms embargo. However, sporadic battles have occurred since then on a daily basis near Tripoli.

[caption id="attachment_109488" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Haftar Forces Prevents UN Flights from Landing in Libya Haftar Forces Prevents UN Flights from Landing in Libya[/caption]

Moreover, Haftar received on Wednesday, the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at the French Foreign Ministry, Christophe Farnaud, at Rajma HQ.

The numbers of mercenaries vary.

However, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said that the number reached 3,600 fighters by the middle of the last week.