Egypt accuses Qatar of undermining peace talks via support for Libyan government
Qatar has signed an agreement with the Tripoli-based Libyan government to build and train military forces in what some see as an attempt to undermine the current progress toward a political solution in Libya.
CAIRO — In what observers considered a new challenge for the 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva and a desire to obstruct the peace endeavors between Libyan parties, Qatar signed a military agreement Nov. 13 with the Government of National Accord (GNA) based in western Libya to “train and build military capacities.” This step allows Qatar to boost its military presence on Libyan territories.
The military agreement, which is the first of its kind with Qatar, crowns a memorandum of understanding signed Oct. 26 between the GNA’s Ministry of Interior and its Qatari counterpart for security cooperation in Doha. The agreement was concluded in the presence of Qatari Minister of Interior Khalid Bin Khalifa Bin Abdul Aziz al-Thani, Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Taher Siala and Libyan Minister of Interior Fathi Bashagha.
