Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced a new initiative for Libya on Saturday, flanked by the war-torn nation’s eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, proposing an elected leadership council and a ceasefire starting on June 8.

Sisi, who was also accompanied in Cairo by eastern Libyan parliament head Aguila Saleh, said the plan included a call for negotiations in Geneva and for the exit of all foreign fighters from Libya.

Sisi’s announcement comes after the abrupt collapse of a 14-month offensive by Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) to try to take control of the capital, Tripoli.

The retreat, reversing many of Haftar’s gains from last year when he raced towards Tripoli, extends the control of the rival Government of National Accord (GNA) across most of northwest Libya. Haftar and allied groups still control the east and much of the south, as well as most of Libya’s oilfields, however.

Egypt along with the United Arab Emirates and Russia have provided support for Haftar, but that backing has been outweighed in recent months by Turkish military backing for the GNA.

Source: Websites