US AFRICA COMMAND AND EFFORTS TO UNIFY THE ‘LIBYAN ARMY’

Sun 23 March 2025:

US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) has deepened its interest in Libya following the developments in the country after the military attack launched by the House of Representatives-affiliated leadership on the capital, Tripoli, in 2019. One of the most dangerous consequences of this attack was the direct military presence of foreign forces, particularly the Russians and Turks.

Turkish forces are not a concern for the US, but Russian presence on Libyan soil has deepened the concerns of the Americans and their European allies, as evidenced by the statements issued by their officials and their movements on the ground. The repeated visits by senior USAFRICOM officers to Libya have been linked to these concerns.

USAFRICOM has played a prominent role in containing military and security tensions between the parties to the Libyan conflict.

The calm on the front lines and in the areas of contact cannot be separated or disconnected from US interventions, the ceasefire agreement and negotiations through the 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC), as well as another official but unannounced path.

Germany-based USAFRICOM supported the main points of agreement reached by the 5+5 JMC: a ceasefire and stabilisation, the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign forces, and the unification of the army. These points were supposed to be implemented sequentially, meaning that the withdrawal of mercenaries would follow the ceasefire, followed by the unification of the army. However, matters did not progress well regarding the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign forces. While a number of foreign fighters from Chad and Sudan were withdrawn, this did not apply to the Russian and Turkish forces, for well-known reasons related to geopolitical developments across a larger area of North, Central and Southern Africa, and the subsequent military and security repercussions.

It appears that the Americans resorted to the plan of unifying the “army” as a key factor contributing to the withdrawal of foreign forces, especially since the reliance on political consensus and the settlement of disputes between Libyan factions regarding the constitution and elections is facing major challenges.

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This is perhaps confirmed or hinted at by a report issued by African Defence Forum magazine, affiliated with USAFRICOM, which indicated the interest of American officials and their emphasis on the need to unify the divided military institutions in order to impose security stability and confront the risks posed by the presence of foreign mercenaries and illegal trafficking networks. The report did not reveal any progress on this path, other than praising the cooperation of the parties to the Libyan conflict and their agreement on mechanisms for US cooperation with the Libyan parties to overcome the obstacles preventing the unification of forces in the west and east.

What has hindered the rapid implementation of the military and security points agreed upon by the 5+5 JMC is the link between the interests and influence of the Libyan conflicting parties and the external support (Russia and Turkiye), and the insistence on all forces being subordinate to the General Command headed by Khalifa Haftar, whose position and powers are beyond dispute with regard to the eastern front.

USAFRICOM is not expected to intervene directly to resolve these two issues.

It appears to be counting on making progress in unifying the General Staff Command. It may achieve positive results on this front, but efforts to meet the requirements for army unification require political stability and the resolution of outstanding issues causing the current state of institutional division.

America’s ongoing efforts to restructure the military institution to address security challenges within Libya and the region, and to protect Libyan sovereignty from any external interference, as stated in the report, require a restructuring of the military and security structure. This will clash with the interests and impact of influential forces in the west and east. The influential forces in the west, especially the capital, Tripoli, whose powers and authority are greater than that of the armed forces, will not accept a unified army that follows the model implemented in the east, where the army controls military, security and even political affairs.

The hammer of expelling the Russians and the anvil of the complex military, security and political situation could prompt USAFRICOM’s plan to produce a deformed embryo and an entity lacking in effectiveness and influence. This is in addition to the ambiguity surrounding the White House’s approaches and options under President Donald Trump, and its handling of Russian ambitions, which may go in a direction different to that planned by US Africa Command.

This article first appeared in Arabic in Arabi21 on 8 March 2025.

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