Tweet Made in Turkey: Bashagha Deletes Tweet Vowing to Confront Egyptian Army

The Government of National Accord (GNA) Interior Minister, Fathi Ali Bashagha, backtracked on threats he made from Turkey on Tuesday that the GNA would confront Egypt and consider its army an enemy if it intervenes militarily in Libya.

(Libya, 22 July 2020) – Fathi Ali Bashagha, had tweeted through his official Twitter account attacking the Egyptian Parliament’s decision to send troops to Libya, which he considered a violation of the charters of the Arab League and the United Nations, which established his government without local legitimacy. He, however, deleted the tweet a few hours after posting it.

Fathi Bashagha’s deleted tweet.

In his deleted tweet, which was archived by Al Marsad before it was deleted, Bashagha vowed to fight the Egyptian army: “We consider any forces within our borders as hostile forces and declare that we will not hesitate to defend the sovereignty, security and freedom of our nation.” The full tweet translates as follows:

Libyan Minister of Interior on Twitter: “Yesterday’s approval by the Egyptian Security Council of Deputies to deploy combat forces outside its western borders is to declare war on Libya and is a violation of the Arab League Charter and is a violation of the United Nations’s Charter! We consider any foreign forces within our borders as hostile forces and we declare that we will not hesitate to defend the sovereignty, security, and freedom of our nation.”

However, Bashagha did not elucidate whether the thousands of Syrian mercenaries and terrorists that are now stationed at the police college of his ministry wearing uniforms, are regarded as hostile foreign force or not, as one Libyan asked him on the thread of the deleted tweet.

VIDEO | With the highest "security" salary in #Libya, a new force composed of Syrian mercenaries is being formed by the #GNA at #Yarmouk camp. #Videographic pic.twitter.com/M386F35IIn

— صحيفة المرصد الليبية (@ObservatoryLY) July 16, 2020

ANOTHER TWEET

After deleting the above tweet, which was promoted when published by Qatar’s Al Jazeera networks and the rest of the Muslim Brotherhood’s media platforms at home and abroad, Bashagha went on to post another tweet in which he softened the tone of his earlier post without explaining why he had deleted it.

Islamist media organisations  in Libya and abroad all immediately published Bashagha’s tweet that threatened Egypt. 

Islamist media organisations  in Libya and abroad all immediately published Bashagha’s tweet that threatened Egypt. 

Islamist media organisations  in Libya and abroad all immediately published Bashagha’s tweet that threatened Egypt. 

Islamist media organisations  in Libya and abroad all immediately published Bashagha’s tweet that threatened Egypt. 

From a tweet that was threatening in nature he now does a volte-face and writes: “Now, more than ever, we need Libyans to leave their disagreements, and put their hands to draw their future on their own by embracing a project that brings stability, peace and reruns the economy wheel in Libya in an encompassing and democratic country that ensures justice for all.” 

Now more than ever, we need Libyans to leave their disagreements and put their hands to draw their future on their own by embracing a project which brings stability, peace and reruns the economic wheel in Libya in an encompassing & democratic country that ensures justice for all.

— وزير الداخلية الليبي (@fathi_bashagha) July 21, 2020

However, as is typical of Bashagha he seems to throw catchwords around to ameliorate concerns of the international community. He mentions democracy but does not explain what democracy has to do with the idea of consensus that is detached from the electoral ballot. Bashagha is responsible for the influx of 15,000 Syrian militants, many of which with terrorist links, and his collaboration with militias and organised criminal trafficking and smuggling cartels. His actions run consistently counter to all the self-promotion and PR stunts he plays with his disingenuous slogans for civil society, democracy and the rule of law.

© Al Marsad English (2020)