Libya’s internationally-recognised Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni said yesterday he was ready for peace talks with rivals controlling the capital Tripoli and questioning his legitimacy if all sides made concessions.
The North African country has had two governments and parliaments since a militia group from the western city of Misurata seized the capital Tripoli in August, setting up its own cabinet and assembly and effectively splitting Libya.
Al-Thinni, whose government has retreated 1,000 kilometres to the east where also the elected parliament is now based, set one condition for talks with his rivals.
Al-Thinni says all sides must be ready to make concessions
“We open the doors of dialogue with our brothers on the condition that there be concessions from all sides,”al-Thinni told reporters in Khartoum at the end of a three-day visit to Sudan.
Western powers worry that Libya is heading towards civil war as authorities are too weak to control former rebels who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but now defy state authority to grab power and a share of oil revenues.
The United Nations has been trying to bring together the House of Representatives, the country’s elected Parliament allied to al-Thinni’s government, for talks with Misurata members who have boycotted its sessions.
The talks do not include armed groups from Misurata. But since some lawmakers come from the western city linked to a rival parliament set up in Tripoli, diplomats hope the talks will lead to a broader dialogue.
Al-Thinni did not say what concessions he was asking for or if armed groups would have a seat at the negotiating table.
UN Special Envoy Bernandino Leon said yesterday the oil-producing country is “very close to the point of no return”.
Al-Thinni’s trip to Sudan comes after his numerous accusations that Sudan, as well as Qatar, have been arming the Islamist militants that have forced his government to relocate
Khartoum and Doha have denied the allegations and Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir sounded a reconciliatory note during al-Thinni’s visit.
Bashir reaffirmed support for Libya’s national army, touting a three-year-old training programme for its officers and offering to host a regional conference on the Libyan conflict.
“Khartoum will host a meeting of the neighbouring countries of Libya which will be the basis of the dialogue plan,” he said.
Meanwhile also yesterday at least 10 people were killed when rockets struck several residential districts of Libya’s Benghazi city as the army fought with Islamist militias, medics said. At least 180 people have been killed since pro-government forces launched an offensive on Islamists in Libya’s second-largest city two weeks ago – part of chaos gripping the major oil producer three years after the ousting of Muam-mar Gaddafi.
The nascent army, backed by forces of former army general Khalifa Haftar and armed youths, had made initial gains by expelling Islamists from the airport area and claiming the seizure of one of their strongholds in the port city.
But heavy fighting erupted again yesterday in several parts of the city and rockets and artillery shells hit residential districts, residents said.
“Ten bodies were delivered to hospitals,” said a medic.
Benghazi, which is home to several oil firms, has been a battlefield since May when Haftar declared war on Islamists such as the Ansar al-Sharia – blamed by Washington for a 2012 attack on the US consulate that killed the American ambassador.