Africa Intelligence has reported that the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and finance were the subject of bitter negotiations between Fathi Bashagha and Khalifa Haftar’s entourage.
The report indicated that Belgassem Haftar, the son and political adviser of Khalifa Haftar, has been at the helm of the negotiations with Bashagha to secure top ministries for his side.
“Belgassem Haftar was the mediator of these negotiations, following the alliance formed between Bashagha, the former Interior Minister, and his father. Belgassem Haftar is his father’s political adviser and he has managed to secure some key positions in the new government.” The report.
“In the list leaked on 28 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was assigned to Hafedh Gaddour, which caused many representatives from the West to react. This heavyweight of Muammar Gaddafi’s diplomatic team is a friend of Belgassem Haftar.” The report said.
The defense portfolio was also the subject of intense negotiations. While Bashagha finally opted for the vice-president of the House of Representatives Ehmeid Houma, Belgassem Haftar wanted the former prime minister of the Al-Bayda government, Abdullah Al-Thani, to be appointed.
Again under the advice of Haftar’s son, the finance ministry has been given in this initial list to Osama Hamad, who previously held this post under Fayez Al-Sarraj’s government from 2016 to 2018, but was removed from it following suspicions of wrongdoing. There was, however, another candidate for the post, Moraja Gaith Sulaiman, who is a former finance minister and board member of the Libyan Central Bank.
According to Italian news agency Nova, a meeting took place on 27 February between Belgassem Haftar and the Head of the High State Council, Khaled Al-Mishri, in Ankara. The meeting was reportedly short-lived and the next day Khaled Al-Mishri expressed his opposition to the government line-up proposed by the Haftar-Bashagha tandem.
Another son of Khalifa Haftar has also joined the negotiations, this time for the post of deputy PM covering Fezzan, the Libyan south. It was on the recommendation of Saddam Haftar that the name of Salem Al-Zadma was selected. This makes sense because he is the brother of Hassan Al-Zadma, commander of the 128 Brigade, which is deployed in the south of the country under Haftar’s control.
