France hosts Libyan conference ahead of interrogations in war-torn country News

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French President Emmanuel Macron will take on leaders and diplomats in Paris on Friday as Libya maintains its plan for the December elections and hopes to turn a new page in its history.
A hydrocarbon-rich North African country has been embroiled in civil war since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted in a 2011 uprising by his longtime leader, and Libya’s rival factions and armed groups, as well as regional powers, have been bleeding.
The December 24 presidential vote and legislative election are key parts of the United Nations plan to help restore stability, but the calendar has come under pressure as tensions between rival camps resume.
Whether or not the different factions will take into account the results of the polls could be a turning point for a country that has become a major starting point for migrants and refugees seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
There will be nearly 30 countries and organizations in Paris, including Libyan neighbors, and countries divided as a result of the conflict.
The main actors attending the meeting will be US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is visiting France to improve relations, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, one of Paris ’closest allies in the Middle East.
“Elections are available. There is a big push in Libya to move forward. At stake is the stability of the country, ”said a French presidential official, who asked not to be identified by name.
Earlier this week, Libya opened the registration of candidates for the election, fueling speculation about the possible presidential bid for re-elected military commander Khalifa Haftar and the son of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, both of whom are highly divisive.
The program is also unclear: presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 24.
In early October, parliament postponed legislative elections until January, even though the world powers and the UN want to hold them at the same time.
A French presidential official told reporters at a pre-meeting meeting that some actors were ready to use any ambiguity to defend their interests. “Obviously, they are waiting for the ambush and trying to thwart the election process,” the official said.
The latest communiqué may warn diplomats that potential spoilers could face penalties.
Forces away?
Elisha officials have made efforts to present the conference as an international effort, led by France, Germany, Italy, the UN and Libya itself.
But Macron is expressing his latest attempt at international diplomacy, which will call for elections again in April and his country will also take over the presidency of the European Union in January.
In May 2018, a year into office, Macron also convened Libya’s top leaders for a conference in Paris, where they agreed to hold elections that year.
Since then, France has denounced Haftar, a former CIA asset, in a conflict against the UN-recognized GNA-based Tripoli-based government in the National Accord. The Libyan National Army (LNA), based in eastern Haftar, unsuccessfully launched a military campaign last year to capture western Libya, including Tripoli, the base of the GNA.
Turkey was the main military sponsor of the GNA, while the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Egypt supported Haftar.
Opponents agreed to a ceasefire last October, following UN mediation.
Although French weapons were found at a base used by pro-Haftar forces in 2019, Paris has rejected the claims.
Macron wants the conference to approve a plan to expel all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, the French presidency official said.
Paris was initially intended to be attended by Turkish and Russian heads of state, but Ankara and Moscow have sent lower delegates, perhaps showing the complications of removing foreign forces.
The mercenaries of the Wagner Group in Russia are joined by the LNA, along with the Basque Country and Egypt, which helped Moscow in the war.
Diplomats said Turkey was unlikely to act before it could leave the east.
Forces based in eastern Libya said on Thursday they had agreed to repatriate 300 foreign mercenary from the control area after France asked.
“A first group of 300 mercenaries and foreign fighters” must be brought home “at the request of France,” representatives of Haftar’s forces said.
The UN estimates that 20,000 mercenaries and foreign fighters are being deployed in Libya, including Russia’s Wagner group, Chad, Sudan and Syria.
A UN report released in October revealed that all parties, “including third states, including foreign fighters and mercenaries, have violated international humanitarian law … and some have even committed war crimes.”
Notably absent
Libya will be represented by Mohamed al-Menfi, the head of the transitional presidential council who will serve as head of state before the election, as well as Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah.
Local media reported that Dbeibah Najla al-Mangoush will go along with Foreign Minister in a move that highlighted tensions between the prime minister and the presidential council despite his resignation from the presidential council.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is a notable absentee, invited by Paris but left out after Macron was outraged by his comments criticizing his country’s “political-military system”.
The conflict caused a strange expression of contrition from Elisha, and he said he “regretted” the misunderstandings caused by the release.
Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said the response was “respectful” and confirmed that Algerian officials would attend the conference even though Tebboune was not himself.
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