US bid for Libya reunification a gamble, analysts say

WASHINGTON – US envoy Massad Boulos has spent the past year shuttling between Libya’s rival leaders to bridge their political divide. But some fear Washington’s bids would bolster power among entrenched elites at the expense of a long-awaited democratic process.

Boulos, who oversees Arab and African affairs in the Trump administration, has met repeatedly with Libya’s leaders, both inside and outside the country.

Last week, he held talks with Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who heads the UN-recognised government in the capital Tripoli, as well as with military commander Khalifa Haftar, who backs a rival eastern-based administration.

Oil-rich Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi and has remained split between the rival authorities.

Boulos’s main goal in his proposed plan — the details of which remain unknown to the public — was to “end division” in Libya, the envoy recently told Al Hadath TV.

He said the deal sought to “facilitate communication between the two sides”, insisting it was a “Libyan-Libyan plan”.

Separately, Libya’s governing bodies, both in the east and west, have announced a roadmap to hold long-awaited presidential and parliamentary elections by February — which the United Nations has repeatedly called for.

Diplomats and Libyan media have meanwhile speculated that Boulos’s proposal would allow Dbeibah to remain prime minister while Saddam Haftar, the eastern commander’s son, would become head of the Presidential Council.

But Boulos, who did not respond to AFP’s request for comment, has repeatedly steered clear of going into the plan’s details.

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Last month, the Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, said Boulos’s plan was “a unique and distinctive initiative” and “a peaceful resolution to the political crisis”.

Some have interpreted this as a tacit rejection of the elections roadmap announced by Libya’s governing bodies earlier that day.