Libyan Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar has received a new shipment of weapons from Egypt to help him in his battle to take over Tripoli, Egyptian sourses have said.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that ammunition and light weapons, food and blankets were all sent to Haftar’s forces in Libya.
Egyptian diplomatic sources at the Foreign Ministry confirmed Cairo’s desire to resolve the battle in Tripoli before the end of the month, pointing out that intensive political contacts took place between Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Moscow and Paris.
Governments backing Haftar, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are incurring financial losses as a result of his forces’ inability to overthrow authorities in Tripoli. The battle has also had negative political implications for them on an international scale.
The sources told the news site that there are fears of the re-emergence of Daesh in the country as a result of the security chaos which is being experienced.
The West is also worried about the implications of the unrest of the country’s economy and oil activities.
Since launching his attack on Tripoli in early April, Haftar has visited Cairo twice within a month to meet President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Egypt’s support for Haftar became evident with the emergence of Egyptian weapons at his troops’ disposal, amid reports of the presence of high-ranking Egyptian army officers in the central operations room running the attack on Tripoli.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a senior official in the US administration has said that Al-Sisi has put pressure on US President Donald Trump to support Haftar’s efforts to seize Tripoli.
