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(Bloomberg) — Libya’s warring factions have embarked on a tenuous cease-fire in a nine-month war that has drawn in Russia and Turkey, following a call by the presidents of both countries to halt the fighting.
Forces loyal to eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, who launched the war in April against the internationally recognized government, and the Tripoli-based government reduced violence as of midnight. While officials from each side accused the other of violating the peace, neither side has called off the truce.
The dramatic announcement by Haftar’s Libyan National Army after a series of gains in recent weeks followed a call for a cease-fire by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Looming over the conflict was a possible Turkish military intervention to defend Tripoli against Haftar’s forces, who are backed by Russian mercenaries, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
The war, which has killed more than 2,000 people and displaced tens of thousands, threatens to further divide an oil-producing country wracked by violence since a NATO-backed revolt in 2011 toppled dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi.
Haftar has resisted ending his offensive, arguing that he could take the capital and unseat the government. International pressure had mounted for months as the war drew in outside powers, including Turkish-backed Syrian rebels deployed to defend Tripoli. The United Nations mission welcomed the truce and called on both sides to adhere to it.
Hours earlier, Putin held talks with the leaders of Egypt and the U.A.E. He also reached out to Qatar, which backs the Government of National Accord in Tripoli. The Kremlin said late Saturday that Putin and Erdogan spoke by phone, reaffirming their goal of a “political resolution” in Libya.
Berlin meeting
The U.S., which had held Libya at arm’s length until Russian mercenaries were deployed in September, increased pressure on both sides to end the fighting in meetings with Haftar and a GNA leader in Rome last week. Putin said Saturday that the government hasn’t sent fighters.
Next, Germany plans to host a Libyan summit this month to enforce a UN arms embargo flouted by the backers of the rival factions. Turkey and the U.A.E. have deployed armed drones to Libya and supplied local allies with armored vehicles and weapons.
“We have agreed that we will soon be able to issue invitations to a conference in Berlin,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters on Saturday after meeting Putin, who reiterated his call for a cease-fire.
It isn’t clear how the truce will be implemented or monitored. Haftar’s forces control eastern Libya and the south, where most of the oil fields are. The front lines in Tripoli’s suburbs are a patchwork of rival forces, some of them nominally under a central command.
The announcement of the truce “creates space for further dialogue,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in a Facebook post. A meeting between Italy, Turkey and Russia is expected to take place soon in preparation for the Berlin conference, Di Maio said in an interview with daily La Stampa on Sunday. Italy has longstanding political and economic ties to Libya, and the government fears escalation of the conflict could create a new wave of refugees, stoking anti-migrant sentiment and weakening its fragile consensus.
The grievances that led to the war also remain. Haftar launched the offensive claiming Tripoli was in the grip of terrorists, although the government there is a Western ally in fighting Islamic State and other jihadists. But the war has more to do with control over the country’s financial institutions in the capital, including the central bank, which Haftar says hasn’t distributed oil revenue fairly.
To contact the reporters on this story: Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Cairo at [email protected];Arne Delfs in Berlin at [email protected];Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at [email protected], Tony Czuczka, Linus Chua
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