Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/618165
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 DECEMBER 2015 7 News B O U T I Q U E S : PA R I S LO N D O N N E W YO R K B EI J I N G H O N G KO N G S I N G A P O R E N E W D EL H I D U BA I M O S COW Z U R I C H T I S S O T WAT C H E S . C O M T I S S OT I N N OVATO R S BY T R A D I T I O N It 's time for everyday extraordinary. TIS SOT tr ad itio n pe rpetual cale n dar . PAVILIONJEWELLERS 43 Republic Street, Valletta. Tel: 21249222 Email: info@pavilion.com.mt interlocutor for Libyan UN deal detractors has however told MaltaToday that he was confident that despite Aguila Saleh's opposition to the deal the president and the major- ity of the HoR would approve the new government handpicked by the UN. Attempts to reach representa- tives of the GNC in Malta were unsuccessful. Boots on the ground According to media reports, the international community is plan- ning to deploy a 6,000-strong Italian-led force to Libya after the signing of the UN-sponsored peace deal. Lamin said the HoR would be discussing the possibility of ap- proving boots on the ground next week, but stopped short of saying whether the Tobruk government supports the move. The international community, especially Italy, France and the UK have been toying with the idea of sending troops to Libya for months. For months this has not been possible because both rival gov- ernments vehemently opposed a foreign military presence but with a newly installed UN backed gov- ernment this could change. The idea for a NATO 'peace- keeping' force to combat jihadi extremists and human smugglers was first floated by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Febru- ary. Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni and defence minister Roberta Pinotti hinted that Italy was ready to send 5,000 troops to its former colony. Although Gentiloni later retract- ed these claims, Pinotti had said that since Italy had sent 5,000 sol- diers to Afghanistan, Italy should do likewise in Libya. So far, the lack of authorisation by Libyan authorities has delayed plans for a military intervention in Libya targeting both ISIS and human smugglers. But the instal- lation of a new UN backed govern- ment could pave the way for a for- eign military presence in Libya. On Friday, UK defence secretary Michael Fallon told Forces TV that Britain was prepared to deploy up to 1,000 soldiers to Libya. A team of half a dozen Special Forces op- eratives will be sent first to carry out a 'scoping' mission before the full cohort of British troops are sent to train Libyan fighters next year. Elite SAS soldiers are to be armed to wage war against ISIS fighters who in recent months have taken control of the coastal towns of Derna and Sirte. Fallon said the British govern- ment expects to be asked by the new UN-backed Libyan govern- ment to deploy troops to train and advise the country's armed forces. Earlier this week US special forces had to leave Wattiya airbase in western Libya soon after their arrival after the Libyan Air Force posted photos of the soldiers on its Facebook page. The photos confirmed long- standing rumours that US Com- mandos were in Libya and Wat- tiya's proximity to Sabratha, site of the Islamic State's western Libya base, heightened speculation that the US is poised to launch strikes on the terror group. Pentagon sources confirmed to US media that the special forces unit was part of a mission sent this week, but it was unclear why the soldiers were in the military air- base controlled by Haftar's army. In recent weeks, French and US reconnaissance flights have flown over Sabratha and ISIS bases fur- ther east at Sirte, Benghazi and Derna. It is estimated that up to 3,000 ISIS fighters are operating in Libya and receiving support from the group's base in Syria. "Libya wor- ries me because Daesh (IS) has installed itself by taking advantage of local rivalries," French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on 22 November. Justifying French reconnaissance flights he said "if we can unite those forces against Daesh, it will no longer exist as the forces have sufficient military means." ISIS has used the anarchy gen- erated by the fall of Gaddafi, and the ensuing conflict between the rival governments in Tripoli and Tobruk, to gain a foothold in the oil-rich country. France already has some 3,500 troops deployed across West Af- rica, including near the southern border of Libya, originally de- ployed to counter an Islamist in- surgency in Mali. 'Another Gaddafi' Sources close to both the Tripoli and Tobruk governments have told MaltaToday that Haftar is not a trusted figure by leading politi- cians on both sides and some fear that Haftar will orchestrate a coup "just like Gaddafi did in 1969." Haftar, a former Gaddafi ally, is a divisive figure and in September Libya's internationally recognised government's prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni was arrested by Haftar's forces before leaving for Malta. In 2014, former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan described the general's calls for a coup as "ri- diculous". The UN-backed unity govern- ment is expected to make an offi- cial demand to have the UN Secu- rity Council lift the arms embargo, with the presence of ISIS being seen as a pretext for such a move. During the unprecedented meet- ing between Kobler and Haftar, the renegade general called for an end to the arms embargo to help fight Islamist militants. "Dialogue cannot continue as it did in the past without any benefit. Otherwise it's a waste of time," Haftar told reporters. "We need the arms embargo on the Lib- yan army to be lifted, and with that we will have the weapons to carry out our proper role." Kobler said the UN recognised unity government was necessary to provide support or lift the arms embargo. But that would also re- quire a national army for the whole country, he said. This has fuelled fears that Haftar could snatch control of the coun- try if he is allowed into Tripoli as the UN-backed government's of- ficial army. UN envoy Martin Kobler met Khalifa Haftar, a US citizen, on Wednesday The president of the internationally recognised Libyan House of Representatives (Council of Deputies) Aguila Saleh Issa (left) and the president of the Islamist-controlled General National Congress Nuri A.M. Abusahmin (right) with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat