Africa Intelligence has reported that Khalifa Haftar’s son and loyalists are conducting secret negotiations in Paris with the rival camp of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, adding that Haftar, who is allied to the prime minister-designate elected by the House of Representatives in Tobruk, Fathi Bashagha, has entrusted the mission to his son Belgassem Haftar, saying Belgassem has travelled by private jet to the French capital several times since mid-March.
According to the report, Belgassem Haftar is trying to get Dbeibah’s entourage to convince him to step down as prime minister; obviously to allow their ally, Bashagha, to assume power of the government and be seated in Tripoli.
“Several meetings have taken place in Paris. Belgassem Haftar met on 25 March in a discreet tête-à-tête with Dbeibah’s closest adviser, Ibrahim Dbeibah, who is a pillar of the prime minister’s family. Ibrahim Dbeibah is the son of Abdul Hamid’s cousin, Ali Ibrahim Dbeibah, a powerful businessman from Misrata who is the city’s former mayor and a former boss of the Organization for the Development of Administrative Centers (ODAC).” Africa Intelligence said.
“Belgassem Haftar also met on 20 March in Paris with another big name in the government, Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush. But Haftar’s talks with her, as with her close ally Ibrahim Dbeibah, have remained at a standstill. Further meetings in Paris are however planned in the coming weeks.” The report said.
Belgassem Haftar and Dbeibah’s team met in Abu Dhabi ahead of elections scheduled for December 2021. The objective was to find a compromise in case of postponement of the polls, but the talks failed, according to Africa Intelligence.
