Black gold clash: Sarraj ignites hostility gap in Libya

Amira Sherif

In light of the rapid events in Libya and the conflicts taking place between Government of National Accord (GNA) head Fayez al-Sarraj in the west and Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar in the east, it seems that Libya will repeat the scenario of 2011 that followed the overthrow of the late Muammar Gaddafi, the state of chaos that prevailed in the country, and the sharp divisions between the parties to the Libyan conflict, with each calling for help separately from abroad, which has led to unprecedented ambitions for the wealth and resources of the Libyan people, which are their inherent right.

The past days have witnessed an intense state of conflict between the two parties to the conflict, between Sarraj’s announcement of the desire to submit his resignation in October and Haftar’s announcement of the resumption of Libyan oil production, which was suspended about nine months ago, as the Tripoli government hasted to reject the declaration, in an indication of the obstacles that are placed on the path to a political solution.

For his part, Libyan parliament speaker advisor Fathi al-Marimi revealed that a meeting will be held in Geneva in October between all Libyan parties to choose a new presidential council and government.

Marimi said in press statements that the upcoming meeting will have the primary goal of choosing a new presidential council, prime minister and two new deputies, and through them a new ministry will be assigned to be approved by the Libyan parliament, especially after Sarraj announced he would resign in October, which was expected due to popular pressure.

He also mentioned that there is complete Libyan agreement to unify Libya’s institutions, specifically the economic ones, and these agreements increased after the recent Morocco summit in which the formation of the presidential council and the two deputies was settled, in addition to an agreement on the sovereign positions that would be representative of the three regions of Cyrenaica, Fezzan and Tripoli.

Marimi also confirmed that the Presidential Council led by Sarraj had failed to solve the country’s crises, as well as the lack of services such as electricity, health and foodstuffs, and the high exchange rate, in addition to causing severe division among Libyans.

Meanwhile, Haftar attributed the decision to reopen Libya’s oil installations, as the low standard of living among citizens made the army turn a blind eye to all political and military considerations, noting that it had been decided in response to national motives to resume the production and export of Libyan oil.

The LNA commander pointed out that the export operations of Libyan oil will be subject to measures that ensure a fair distribution of revenues among the people and that they will not be used to support terrorism.

Haftar added that the decision came after the failure of all the initiatives that were previously submitted to solve the Libyan crisis, which, as he described it, focused on sharing power without concern for the Libyan citizenry.

The LNA also announced the formation of a technical committee to oversee oil revenues with the participation of Ahmed Maiteeq, Sarraj’s deputy, representing the Western Region, in addition to representatives from the rest of the regions. However, Sarraj reportedly rejected the proposal, according to Bloomberg.

Misrata militia elements then attacked a press conference scheduled for Maiteeq, which led to its cancellation.

According to Libyan sources, the attack came due to the militias’ rejection of the oil agreement and any understandings between Maiteeq and the LNA.

It is noteworthy that Sarraj announced a few days ago his desire to relinquish power and hand over his responsibilities to the executive authority that will emanate from the dialogue committee no later than the end of October. Meanwhile, the United States aims to unify institutions before holding legislative and presidential elections, calling on the expedited formation of the new authority to ensure a peaceful and smooth transition in order to lead the country to safety.

Morocco recently hosted Libyan dialogue sessions between the delegations of the Supreme Council of State and the Tobruk Parliament, with the aim of stabilizing the ceasefire and opening negotiations to resolve differences between the Libyan factions.