Libya at risk of ‘sliding back into chaos’, Qatar warns

DOHA (AA) – Libya faces the risk of “sliding back into chaos and insecurity”, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry warned Thursday amid reports of fresh military escalations in the troubled North African country.</p> <p>The ministry issued the warning in a statement released shortly after Libya’s UN-backed unity government claimed to have spotted forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar near capital Tripoli.</p> <p>Haftar is affiliated with a rival Libyan government based in the eastern city of Al-Bayda.</p> <p>“Qatar is following with great concern recent military escalations in Libya and warns against a further slide into chaos and insecurity in the west of the country [near Tripoli],” the ministry statement read.</p> <p>It went on to warn that the escalations — if confirmed — threaten to derail a planned national dialogue conference slated for April 14 in the western city of Ghadames.</p> <p>Sponsored by the UN, the three-day event is ostensibly aimed at devising a “roadmap” for Libya’s political future.</p> <p>Earlier Wednesday, Fayez al-Sarraj, head of Libya’s Tripoli-based government, ordered the government’s security forces to “prepare for — and respond to — any threats aimed at destabilizing the region”.</p> <p>On the same day, Haftar reportedly ordered his forces to deploy to western parts of the country with a view to “purging the region of terrorist groups and strongholds”.</p> <p>The move has prompted speculation that pro-Haftar forces plan to march on Tripoli, where the fragile unity government is headquartered.</p> <p>Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power. </p> <p>Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power: one in the eastern city of Al-Bayda, to which Haftar is linked, and another in Tripoli.