Speaking to French President Emmanuel Macron Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar ruled out a ceasefire and said he wanted to rid Tripoli of militias that had “infested” the UN-backed government, according to a French presidential official.
“The distrust we see between the Libyan actors is stronger than ever today,” the official said on Wednesday, after the meeting between Macron and Haftar in Paris.
In early April, Haftar’s Libyan National Army advanced on the capital Tripoli. The LNA is now bogged down in southern suburbs by fighters loyal to PM Fayez al-Serraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA).
Macron had asked Haftar to make a public step toward a ceasefire, the official said. Haftar responded by saying that an inclusive political dialogue was necessary and he would be ready for it if the conditions for a ceasefire were in place, Reuters reported.