The United States is intensifying efforts to reunite Libya’s two rival administrations, with a proposed power-sharing arrangement and the prospect of American investment in the country’s oil fields if both sides cooperate.
The initiative comes 15 years after the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi began and as Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye press for a return to “One Libya”. The rival authorities have yet to agree on a unified government.
What Washington is proposing
The reported US initiative would keep Government of National Unity Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dheibah as head of government while making Saddam Haftar, the 35-year-old son of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and chief of the Libyan National Army, president. The proposal depends on the two administrations first forming a single government.
The plan also promises to encourage US investment in Libya’s sizable oil fields if the rival sides cooperate. Tripoli has international legitimacy, while Haftar’s forces control oilfields and terminals in the east. Libya’s Central Bank, which is financing both authorities, has warned of a severe economic situation.
Why Libya remains divided
The uprising began in Benghazi during the Arab Spring, when protests against Gaddafi’s more than four decades in power escalated into an armed rebellion. A UN Security Council resolution authorised an international force led by NATO members, the United States, the United Kingdom and France to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians.
Gaddafi was captured and killed in October 2011, after which a power vacuum left competing groups and allied militias fighting for control. Libya is now split between the UN-recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli and a Tobruk-based eastern administration backed by Khalifa Haftar and his forces.
What has happened in the current mediation effort
The UN began formal mediation in 2020 through the UN Support Mission in Libya. Its roadmap calls for unifying the administrations, holding presidential and parliamentary elections and organising national dialogue meetings. The United States appointed Ambassador Richard Norlan as a special envoy in May 2021 to lead high-level talks.
There are signs of engagement from Haftar’s camp: Saddam Haftar reportedly met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington in July. Mediators have also pointed to Libya’s unified 2026 national budget, signed in April as the first unified budget in more than a decade. However, there are still no talks or evidence that a unified government has formed.
How regional powers are involved
Turkiye, which previously deployed troops to support the Tripoli-based administration, is promoting a “One Libya” policy. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Saddam Haftar in Ankara last month and later held talks in Tripoli with Dheibah and in Benghazi with Khalifa Haftar.
Egypt has traditionally cooperated with the eastern administration and has hosted Khalifa Haftar, who met President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo to discuss unification. Dheibah also visited Cairo, while Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad travelled to Tripoli.
Qatar has largely supported UN mediation and the UN peace roadmap. It has called for a Libyan-led political process leading to unified governance and national elections, while European governments see potential benefits from stability, including efforts to curb irregular migration from Libya and other North African countries.
No comments yet. Start the discussion.