Egypt's Sisi to meet with delegation of Libyan tribes' leaders in Cairo on Thursday
Ahram Online, , Thursday 16 Jul 2020
The visit comes a few days after Libya's Tobruk-based parliament asked Egypt to intervene militarily if need be to safeguard the national security of both countries against what it described as a Turkish occupation


Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is scheduled to meet on Thursday a delegation comprising several Libyan tribal leaders, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady announced in a statement.

The meeting will be held under the slogan "Egypt and Libya… one people, one fate," Rady said.

Egypt received from Benghazi on Wednesday the delegation of Libyan tribes which support the Libyan government in Tobruk and the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by military commander Khalifa Haftar, for talks about the current crisis in Libya and ways to overcome it.

The visit comes a few days after Libya's eastern-based parliament asked Egypt to intervene militarily if need be to safeguard the national security of both countries against what it described as Turkish occupation.

Turkey has recently transferred thousands of Syrian Jihadis and mercenaries into Libya to back the Government of National Accord (GNA) in its war against the LNA.

In June, El-Sisi warned that Cairo has a legitimate right to intervene in the war-torn neighbouring country to restore security and stability after GNA-affiliated forces pushed back Haftar’s forces in the capital.

El-Sisi stressed that any Egyptian intervention “would be led by the Libyan tribes,” stressing that the Libyan frontline of Sirte and Al-Jufra is “a red line” for Egyptian national security.

The warning came weeks after El-Sisi, Haftar, and Speaker of the Libyan parliament Aguila Saleh announced a peace initiative, dubbed the Cairo Declaration, to end the civil war in Libya through a ceasefire and an elected leadership council.

Egypt, France and the UAE support the government in eastern Libya while Turkey and Qatar back the GNA in Tripoli.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/374637.aspx