The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, sponsored by the United Nations, is close to choosing the new unified executive authority, after the participants agreed on a mechanism for choosing the authority.
The UN mission confirmed that it has finalized the procedures and forms for receiving candidates to fill positions for the new executive authority, and that a committee from the forum will verify to ensure full transparency.
These events coincided with attempts by Haftar to thwart this dialogue, at times by agreeing with Al-Sarraj to share power, as reported by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, and sometimes through the mobilization of Russian mercenaries in both Sirte and Al Jufra.
Wagners are planning to stay
The American “CNN” network revealed in a report that the Russian Wagner mercenaries dug more than 30 defensive positions in the desert and the foothills that extend for about 70 kilometers between Sirte and Al Jufra.
The network based its report on satellite images that showed an accumulation of defenses around Al-Jufra Air Base, as well as Brak Airport in the south, by installing and fortifying the apparent radar defenses, which reflects concern that these trenches reinforce fears that the Wagner will not withdraw in the near future from Libya, as stipulated in the signed military agreement. In Geneva last October.
The network indicated that Russia, which does not recognize an armed presence on the ground and claims that the mercenaries do not represent it, aims to gain influence in Libya without official responsibility.
In the same context, a Western diplomat told CNN that Haftar needs to continue the conflict in Libya to maintain his importance, because he will become irrelevant overnight if the conflict ends, and if it does not end with his terms, then he will be subject to prosecutions for war crimes.
A unified government to oversee the implementation of the military agreement
Observers believe that what CNN reported about the long settlement projects of Wagner mercenaries proves the urgent need to complete the political dialogue with the formation of an executive authority that withdraws the justification for the division that Haftar and some international parties who support him exploit in order to settle foreign mercenaries.
This unified government that emerges from the political dialogue can be a catalyst and support to implement the outcomes of the military agreement and accelerate the withdrawal of mercenaries from the contact zone, by deploying a police force in the area and coordinating with international observers who the Security Council is preparing to send according to these observers.
Upcoming meeting
A member of the 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee, Brigadier Mukhtar Naqasa, said that the committee will convene early next week to discuss opening the coastal road between Sirte and Misurata, and to discuss all obstacles that prevent this.
Naqasa confirmed during a press statement that the joint security force on their side is ready to secure the coastal road as soon as it is opened, adding that the committee will consider extending the period set for the exit of mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya to an additional 90 days.
