A report by the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) -- an influential body set up to ensure that British Conservative parliamentarians understand the Middle East -- has urged the UK to engage with Khalifa Haftar, the Libyan National Army (LNA), and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR).
It also says the UK should reconsider its relationship with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), and "acknowledge its limited capacity to delivery any kind of governance or security for Libya".
The authors, CMEC Director Leo Docherty and CMEC Vice-Chairman Kwasi Kwarteng MP travelled to Libya in the first week of March 2017 where they met the Commander of the LNA, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
They also had the opportunity to meet the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, and members of the House of Representatives. The purpose of the delegation was to gain a deeper understanding of the situation inside Libya itself.
The report sets out key recommendations for UK foreign policy in Libya, both to prevent the strengthening of the Islamic State group (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) within the country and to tackle the grievous humanitarian crisis of migrant trafficking across the Mediterranean.
Download the full report here.
(Source: Conservative Middle East Council)
