Arms Supply Bargains in Tripoli; Participant in Skhirat

In a series of meetings conducted in Libya, Asharq Al-Awsat focused on the details of money and arm conflicts between leaders of different militias in Tripoli.

Informed sources talked about a meeting that was held between two top leaders of Libyan militias during which they discussed the process of transferring billions of dollars from the Libyan Central Bank funds to a safe place outside Tripoli due to the increased signs of civil war among heavily armed agents in the city lying on the Mediterranean Sea.

This coincided with the new alliance between each of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Libyan Fighting Group, and ISIS.

Sources confirmed for Asharq Al-Awsat that ISIS leader in Tripoli, Mohammed Al-Madhouni, has communicated with leaderships in the Libyan Fighting Group and with members of the former parliament.

They added that Al-Madhouni also concluded bargains for supplying arms with Abu Saif, who participated in Skhirat consultations in Morocco. Moreover, sources revealed that shipments of weapons arrived from dealers operating between Spain and Morocco.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense has revealed that it is currently studying the feasibility of a new military operation in Libya in order to prevent the extension of ISIS there. Whereas Italy’s Minister of Defense, Roberta Pinotti, has implied that the military intervention in Libya might be carried out before the coming spring.

On the other hand, Army commander of Libya’s Tobruk-based parliament General Khalifa Haftar arrived to Cairo, in an unscheduled visit, as the head of the Libyan delegation. His visit timed one week after the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, praised Gen. Haftar’s role in releasing twenty Egyptians, who were recently kidnapped in Libya.

Haftar’s visit to Egypt also coincided with the announcement of Tripoli Parliament’s will to overthrow him. The announcement was made by the head of Tripoli-based General National Congress, Nuri Abusahmain.