Macron wants France to unite Libyan factions as main rivals meet in Paris

Libya’s eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and the head of the U.N.-backed government Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj plan to meet on Tuesday for French-organised talks on a deal to resolve the country’s crisis, a diplomatic source said on Sunday.

“I know Haftar is in Paris already, Serraj is due to arrive soon. They are aiming for Tuesday,” the source told Reuters.

The two held talks in Abu Dhabi in May, the first in more than a year and a half, about a U.N.-backed deal Libya’s Western partners hope will end the factional fighting that has dominated Libya since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

Haftar has so far rejected the authority of the U.N.-backed government as his forces gain ground in the east of the country supported by Egypt and United Arab Emirates. French President Emmanuel Macron wants France to play a larger role in bringing Libya’s rival factions together.

REUTERS