Libya body close to Haftar condemns visit by Algeria FM

The House of Representatives Committee of Defence and National Security, which has close links to Khalifa Haftar, has denounced the visit of the Algerian foreign minister to the country, calling it “interference of Algerian authorities in the Libyan conflict”.

“We have today observed the entry of the Algerian foreign minister and his tour in the cities of southern Libya without control or authorisation,” the statement said, warning “of the consequences of this…infringement of Libya’s sovereignty.”

Messahel described his last tour of Libya as “very beneficial”.

“It was our duty as a neighbouring country to visit our brothers as they all did in recent months,” he said.

Algeria has been a key player in calling for a solution to the Libyan conflict by avoiding intervention particularly from Western forces and has joined Tunisia and Egypt in trying to broker a reconciliation deal between the warring parties.