Egypt Announces Peace Plan to End Civil War in Libya

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced today the Cairo Declaration, a new peace plan to restore stability in Libya following months of armed conflict between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), Al Ahram reports.

The plan was announced as part of a joint initiative following a meeting with LNA Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and the speaker of Libya’s eastern parliament Aguila Saleh, who also accompanied the Egyptian president during the announcement.

شرفت اليوم بلقاء كل من المستشار عقيلة صالح والمشير خليفة حفتر القائد العام للقوات المسلحة الليبية بقصر الاتحادية صباح اليوم،والذي أسفر عن إعلان القاهرة لمبادرة ليبية ليبية لإنهاء الأزمة والوصول إلى تسوية سلمية تتضمن وحدة وسلامة المؤسسات الوطنية وعودة ليبيا بقوة إلى المجتمع الدولي pic.twitter.com/go1Yh55YEo

— Abdelfattah Elsisi (@AlsisiOfficial) June 6, 2020

“This initiative calls for respecting all international efforts and initiatives by declaring a ceasefire from 06:00 (04:00 GMT) Monday June 8, 2020,” Sisi said during a press conference.

The plan stipulates that the rival parties initiate talks in Geneva, led by the 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission and sponsored by the UN. The plan also calls for to “remove all foreign mercenaries nationwide, the dismantling of militias, and the handover of weapons to allow the LNA to cooperate with other security apparatuses to carry out their military duty.”

The plan is reportedly aimed at uniting Libya’s warring parties and bringing political stability to the country following years of armed conflict which erupted following the ouster of former President Muammar Gaddafi. Additionally, the initiative calls for the institution of a democratically elected presidential committee, in which the nation’s different factions are all represented, as well as the passing of a constitutional declaration by which to govern the country during the transitional period.

This comes following Haftar’s defeat and the failure of his military campaign to capture Tripoli against Turkish-backed GNA forces.