Libya’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Muhammad al-Haddad said they will not allow another civil war in Libya amid the ongoing disagreement between the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah and the Tobruk-based Fathi Bashagha, who was appointed as prime minister by the House of Representatives, as the U.N. continues efforts to hold talks with both sides.
Noting that the Libyan military refrains from joining political debates, al-Haddad said they do not want another war and will not allow it.
"I’m calling on all Libyans. We do not want the country to be dragged into another war. There will be no war," al-Haddad said, adding that now is the time to rebuild the country together.
Meanwhile, the acting head of the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Raisedon Zenenga, and the U.N. secretary-general’s special representative, Stephanie Williams, discussed the political and military developments in Libya with Presidential Council head Mohammad Younes Menfi on Wednesday.
Zenenga suggested that the Presidential Council solve the issue of salary suspension, which has hindered the operation of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee. He also said he will continue efforts to find a solution to the political crisis in the country.
For his part, Menfi said their main goal is to hold elections in Libya as he praised the Libyan people and the U.N. efforts in this regard.
On April 9, pro-putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar representatives from the 5+5 committee announced that they have suspended their activities after allegedly failing to receive their salaries for the past four months.
The 5+5 Joint Military Commission is made up of five senior military officers from the Libyan government and five chosen by putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar.
U.N. says Libya’s oil production shouldn’t be politicized
Williams said on Twitter the country's oil production should not be politicized.
She stressed also that oil revenues should be distributed transparently and fairly.
The National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared force majeure on output from several major fields and export ports in recent days after groups in southern and eastern Libya blockaded them citing political demands.
Bashagha to hold 'Cabinet' meeting
Bashagha will hold the first meeting of his Cabinet in the southern city of Sebha on Thursday, his spokesperson said Wednesday.
The eastern-based parliament appointed Bashagha in March but the sitting prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, refused to cede power leading to a prolonged standoff between the two rival governments.
Bashagha and his Cabinet have not been able to enter the capital Tripoli, where Dbeibah has the support of some armed factions, and has repeatedly said he will not try to do so using force.
Bashagha was interior minister in the Tripoli-based government during Libya's most recent bout of conflict before a 2020 cease-fire, helping it to stave off a 14-month assault by eastern forces.
However, his government is now backed by the most powerful figures in eastern Libya including Haftar and Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh.
Dbeibah was appointed to head an interim unity government through a U.N.-backed process last year that included a military cease-fire and was aimed at holding an election in December.
The parliament said his term of office expired when the election failed to take place and appointed Bashagha to replace him with elections postponed until next year.
Dbeibah rejected that, saying his mandate remains in force, while some other Libyan political bodies said the parliament's moves were illegitimate.