Rebel general welcomes meeting with Arab League envoy

Rebel Libyan General Khalifa Haftar has welcomed a meeting with an envoy from the Arab League, but rejects mediation for dialogue with “extremists”, Haftar’s spokesman Mohamed Hijazi said on Wednesday.

“If the Arab League envoy to Libya requests a meeting with Haftar, the response will be positive, as part of our openness to deal with all Arab countries,” Hijazi told Anadolu news agency. “However, [we] do not expect the Arab League to act as a mediator. It should be a supporter of the Karama operation.”

Since mid-May, Haftar’s forces have been involved in a military operation called “Operation Dignity” (“Amaleyat Al Karama” in Arabic) against the Libyan army. The retired general claims that it is aimed at “cleansing Libya of terrorists.” The Libyan government, on the other hand, says Haftar’s operation is “a coup d’état against the legitimate authorities.”

According to Hijazi, though, Haftar’s movement expects the Arab League to support the general “in fighting terrorists, because we are fighting on behalf of the world”. That is why he rejects any “mediation with extremists”.

The Arab League’s special envoy to Libya, Naser Al-Qudwa, visited Tripoli on Wednesday. In a brief statement to Anadolu, Al-Qudwa said that he seeks to “listen to all political sides, including the Libyan people, to reach a solution to the crisis in Libya.”

Al-Qudwa is the ex-foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. He met with interim Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thaniy in the Libyan capital and discussed issues of mutual concern, including the Arab League’s role in supporting Libya’s transition.