President George Vella has expressed his grave concern at the unfolding situation in Libya where forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar are attempting to take control of the capital Tripoli, the seat of the UN-recognised government.

George Vella

General Haftar backs a rival administration in eastern Libya.

“I am very worried about Libya for a number of reasons. First of all the situation shows the hypocrisy of the international community which seems content to just look the other way as fighting engulfs the country. Secondly this latest conflict is certainly not in the interest of Libya, and has already led to a large number of casualties. We need to emphasise that the only way forward in Libya is a political solution.

“And thirdly, Malta could well be flooded by refugees if the war gets out of control and leads to a humanitarian disaster,” Dr Vella told The Sunday Times of Malta.

The former foreign minister, who has closely followed the situation in Libya for a number of years, on Friday tweeted his frustration at the lack of international focus on Libya, saying:  “Why are the UN and the Western world turning a blind eye to the humanitarian disaster developing in Tripoli, Libya. It will cost us dear!”

Malta could well be flooded by refugees if the war gets out of control

Dr Vella said he was not surprised by General Haftar’s attempt to take the Libyan capital: “We always suspected that General Haftar wanted to seize Tripoli, which he might be able to do if he buys the loyalty of the militias supporting the government of Fayez al-Sarraj. However, Misurata, which also supports the UN-backed government in Tripoli, is a different case. Misurata has a huge standing army and if Haftar tries to take control, there is potential for a bloodbath.”

The President said that the military in Misurata had contributed a lot to the defeat of al-Qaeda and Isis in Libya, and had cleared Sirte of Isis. Many in Misurta identified with the Muslim Brotherhood and were moderate Sunni Muslims, he said, but General Haftar, who cleared eastern Libya of Islamists, had wrongly grouped the Brotherhood and other moderate Muslim groups together with the jihadists.

Dr Vella said the tragedy of Libya was that most countries were only concerned with their direct interests, and did not seem worried about the fact that so many innocent people were being killed.

General Haftar is openly backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, who consider him a bulwark against Islamists. On Monday US President Donald Trump praised General Haftar during a telephone conversation, signalling Washington’s support for him, and there have been a number of press reports indicating that France is secretly backing Haftar. The UN-backed government in Tripoli is supported by Turkey and Qatar.

The President added: “Unfortunately both the UN and the EU seem to be divided over how to respond to the Libyan crisis. Last Thursday the US and Russia opposed a British bid at the UN Security Council to demand a ceasefire in Libya.

“EU foreign policy chief Federica Morgherini has tried hard to reach a consensus position to be able to arrive at a council conclusion on the matter, however, unless you have the approval of all member states you cannot take a major foreign policy decision in the EU.”

Dr Vella said that realistically, Malta could only “stand up and speak” about Libya and exert “moral pressure” on the international community to do something about the situation before it spirals out of control.

“I just want Libya to be a normal country which embarks on a transition to democracy where people can enjoy a normal and peaceful life. If Tunisia can do it, why not Libya?” he said.