Egypt only invited influential tribes to attend the Libyan Tribes Conference hosted in Cairo; no invitations were sent to militias or political parties, foreign ministry spokesperson badr abdel atty told Anadolu Turkish news agency Monday.
Al-Ahram news portal had reported that the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood will attend the conference Monday-Wednesday.
“This is not true, we invited 350-400 tribal figures as we know they are instrumental within the Libyan context and able to keep the country united and we believe it will help reach a political solution to end the crisis,” he said.
Egypt and the international community recognize the Libyan government based in the eastern city of Tobruk after rivals affiliated with the Brotherhood seized power in Tripoli.
“Eventually, Egypt’s role will be regulatory during the talks, and its agenda will be the responsibility of the Libyan tribes representatives,” he added.
However, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called in February for a United Nations resolution mandating an international coalition to intervene in Libya after Egyptian air forces simultaneously bombed Islamic State targets in its western neighbor following the beheading 21 Egyptians.
Referring to the 2011 Libyan war in which France was part of an international coalition that was decisive in deposing former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Sisi labeled it an “unfinished mission” while speaking to France’s Europe 1 radio in an interview aired Feb. 17.
“We abandoned the Libyan people as prisoners to extremist militias,” Sisi added.
