Libya turmoil raises Al Sissi’s poll stakes

Cairo: Mounting unrest in Libya is boosting a presidential bid by Egypt’s ex-army chief Abdul Fattah Al Sissi in next week’s elections, according to experts.

“What is happening in neighbouring Libya broadens the concept of security for Egyptians, “ said Mamdouh Abdul Halim, a security expert.

“Egypt shares with Libya a 1,050-km-long border, which is poorly guarded by the Libyan side in view of the growing conflict inside the country, leaving the door wide for a further flow of illegal arms and drugs across the border into Egypt,” he told Gulf News. “This situation makes Al Sissi the man of the stage in Egypt as he is widely seen as able to restore stability inside Egypt and maintain security along its borders.”

Last week, Libya plunged into one of its worst political crises since the 2011 ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi after rogue general Khalifa Haftar launched a campaign against radical Islamist militias.

Libya’s central authorities have accused Haftar, who participated in the 2011 armed uprising against Gaddafi, of attempting a coup. Islamists, meanwhile, branded Haftar as the “Libyan copy of Al Sissi, who led the Egyptian army’s overthrow of the country’s first freely elected president Mohammad Mursi in July last year.

Haftar has repeatedly denied the accusations, saying his offensive is aimed at “flushing terrorists out” of Libya.

Post-Gaddafi Libya is plagued by a proliferation of arms and former rebel militias amid weakness of the army and police.

Al Sissi, expected to win Egypt’s 26-27 presidential elections, has warned that Libya faces the threat of collapse and could emerge as a hotbed for extremism.

“Libya has no control over the border with Egypt,” Al Sissi said in a recent TV interview. “Arms warehouses in Libya may be smuggled into Egypt. We should not leave Libya to be a magnet for terrorism. We should not allow Libya to turn into a centre for exporting militancy.”

Al Sissi blamed the West for “failing to complete the mission” after the Nato militarily assisted Libyans in ending Gaddafi’s 42-year rule. “It was necessary to collect arms and support security forces in [post-Gaddafi] Libya.”

Egypt has been hit by a security breakdown and a rise in crime rates since a popular revolt forced former president Hosni Mubarak out of power in early 2011.

Al Sissi has pledged to re-introduce stability and revitalize the Egyptian economy hammered by political chaos of more than three years.

His sole challenger is Hamdeen Sabahi, a veteran leftist politician whose detractors write him off as inexperienced. Sabahi came third in the 2012 presidential elections, which Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood won.

In recent months, several Egyptians working in Libya have been killed in attacks by suspected Islamist militants. The Egyptian ambassador and aides were briefly kidnapped in the Libyan capital Tripoli in January. They were released reportedly in exchange for freeing a Libyan Islamist held in Egypt.

Egyptian authorities have repeatedly advised Egyptians against travelling to Libya.

“The military conflict and attempts to divide Libya are among the most serious dangers to Egypt’s national security,” said Mohammad Al Gabari, a security expert. “The border between the two countries is so long that it is difficult to control. Smuggling weapons into Egypt will increase because trade in arms is profitable. This will place more pressure on the Egyptian security apparatus,” he told state-run newspaper Al Ahram.

According to Al Gabari, Libya’s unrest could force Egyptians working there to return home. “This will increase unemployment and crime rates in Egypt, which faces hard economic circumstances.”

Last month, the Egyptian government said that around 3.7 million or 13.4 per cent of Egypt’s 27.6 million work force are jobless, 239,000 higher than the unemployment figure in 2013.