Egypt hosts meeting of Libyan lawmakers to unite settlement efforts
Egypt hosted on Saturday a meeting of members of the Libyan parliament to unite their visions and efforts for the settlement of war-torn Libya’s crisis, official MENA news agency reported.
Held at the headquarters of Egypt’s House of Representatives in Cairo, the meeting of Libyan lawmakers is the second such hosted by Egypt after a previous one in July.
First deputy speaker of Egypt’s parliament, Al-Sayed Mahmoud al-Sherif, stressed in his opening remarks of the session that “Egypt’s parliament, people and president support Libya’s campaign to eradicate terrorism and maintain the unity and integrity of its territories.”
He added that Egypt rejects all forms of foreign intervention in Libya’s domestic affairs.
For his part, deputy speaker of Libya’s parliament, Fawzi al-Nuwairi, described Libya’s relations with Egypt as “historical.”
“Libya is going through a crisis,” said the Libyan senior lawmaker, expressing hope in Egypt’s position that supports Libya’s stability and anti-terror war and tries to bring Libyan visions closer via national dialogue for a settlement.
Since the ouster and killing of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libyan factions have been engaged in a civil war that escalated in 2014, resulting in splitting power between two rival governments: a UN-backed government in the capital Tripoli, and another in the northeastern city of Tobruk.
The Libyan MPs who met in Cairo are from the Tobruk-based parliament that was elected in 2014 but denied by Tripoli. The parliament that had to move to Tobruk supports self-proclaimed Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar.
In April, Haftar’s eastern-based forces started a military campaign towards Tripoli in northwestern Libya, but troops loyal to the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord managed so far to keep them at a distance.
The Egyptian leadership has repeatedly voiced support for Haftar.
