It is an indicator of the internationalization of the war in Libya. And the sign of a growing overlap between the two Syrian and Libyan theaters with heavy repercussions on regional geopolitics. Damascus-Benghazi: a new axis is being formed. On Tuesday March 3, the government of eastern Libya, not recognized by the international community, supporting Marshal Khalifa Haftar, reopened the Libyan embassy in Damascus, closed since 2012.
A high-level delegation from the government based in Al-Baida – not far from Benghazi, Marshal Haftar's stronghold – attended the event, which celebrates a hitherto secret relationship, motivated by shared hostility towards Turkey. According to the SANA agency, the voice of Bashar Al-Assad's regime, delegates from eastern Libya and their Syrian interlocutors have pledged to jointly counter "Turkey's aggression against the two countries".
A new step towards the reintegration of the Bashar Al-Assad regime on the Arab diplomatic scene, this Damascus-Benghazi axis is meant to be a response to the rival Ankara-Tripoli connection. This allowed the government of national agreement (GAN) of Faïez Sarraj, sitting in the Libyan capital – and recognized by the international community – to resist the assault launched in spring 2019 by dissident marshal Haftar, supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Russia. In addition to military equipment – including an air defense system – Ankara dispatched around 3,000 pro-Turkish Syrian fighters from the anti-Assad rebellion to Tripoli.
Connection in germ
The escalation of foreign interference, already well underway, therefore takes on a new dimension with the advent of Damascus in the game.
By composing with Haftar, the Syrian power is getting closer to the pro-Saudi camp in the Middle East, which supports the Libyan marshal. Supporters of the anti-Assad uprising, because they saw it as a way of weakening Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, gradually distanced themselves from the rebellion. In December 2018, Abu Dhabi reopened its embassy in Damascus, followed soon after by Bahrain.
"For several years, propaganda approved by Cairo or by Abu Dhabi has never criticized Assad, said Jalel Harchaoui, a specialist in Libya at the Clingendael Institute for International Relations (Netherlands). He appears periodically as a figure to honor for his fight against the Muslim Brotherhood. For the past two or three years, the same comments can be made about pro-Haftar propaganda: Assad is a positive character because he is engaged in a deadly struggle against political Islam. "
