Egypt offers new Libya plan, but GNA rejects it

CAIRO - Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) attempted new advances on Saturday against the forces of retreating eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, who stood by in Cairo as his ally, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, proposed a ceasefire.

Turkish-backed GNA forces advanced into the central coastal city of Sirte, they and residents said, though eastern forces said they had driven them back.

Appearing at a news conference in Cairo alongside Sisi, Haftar agreed to a new political initiative.

The GNA seemed poised to reject Egypt's proposals, which included a ceasefire from Monday and a longer-term peace plan, but its war with Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) in the east still seems far from over.

Both sides' foreign backers may be unwilling to curtail efforts to expand their regional ambitions. The LNA still controls the east as well as most of Libya's oil fields in the south.

Libya has had no stable central authority since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown by NATO-backed rebels in 2011 and has been split since 2014 between rival administrations in east and west.

Speaking alongside Haftar and Aguila Saleh, the head of the eastern Libyan parliament, Sisi proposed a plan that includes talks in Geneva, the election of a leadership council, the disbanding of militias and the exit of all foreign fighters from Libya.

In brief comments, Haftar said he hoped Sisi could make "urgent and effective efforts to compel Turkey to completely stop the transfer of weapons and mercenaries to Libya". The UAE was quick to state its support for Saturday's declaration.

But Khaled al-Meshri, head of the GNA-aligned legislative assembly, said Libyans had no need for new initiatives and rejected Haftar's attempt to return to negotiations after military defeat, according to Al Jazeera.