Did the Libyan military delegation discuss with Egyptians amending Skhirat agreement in Haftar’s favor?

A Libyan high ranking military delegation reportedly arrived in Cairo on Friday in a visit that lasted for several days. The delegation, which arrived in a private jet from Libya, was headed by Libyan Defense Ministry’s Counselor Mohamed Abu al-Kassem Saleh, and mostly discussed the amendment of the Skhirat agreement, as was seen by many observers.

Many media reports have linked the Libyan military delegation’s visit with the visit of the UN envoy Martin Kobler to Egypt, who confirmed in press releases the probability of amending the Skhirat agreement, consider such a step as “the only guarantee to end the Libyan crisis”.

In the same context, the delegation met with a number of top officials and figures in Egypt to discuss enhancing the cooperation ties, and the developments on the Libyan arena,  a security source told Anadolu  Agency.

In addition, many observers said that the delegation was likely to meet Egypt’s Defense Minister, and the Chief of Staff in charge by al-Sisi to oversee the Libyan file.

The delegation visit came days after Cairo had hosted a conference attended by Libyan officials and representatives from the country’s numerous factions, where they issued a declaration of principles and five proposed amendments to an agreement, brokered by the UN in 2015.

The conference concluded the agreement on amending the 8th article of the 2015 agreement that outline the authorities of the Libyan army chief commander.

The article constituted  a major obstacle during signing Skhirat agreement as it included the exclusion of General Khalifa Haftar from leading the army.

The conference meetings were brokered under the auspices of the Egypt’s General Intelligence Directorate and in a hotel related to the security entity.

The two-day conference was attended by Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry and Army Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy along with a range of Libyan representatives without the invitation or the attendance of any representative from the Islamic currents.

The conference concluded what the participants consider as “a road map to achieve unity in Libya during the coming period, “and one of the major recommendations presented by the participants,” to reconsider the responsibilities of the army chief commander that is currently held by Aqila Saleh, the head of Tobruk’s House of Representatives (HoR), who has promoted General Khalifa Haftar to Field Marshal last September.

Haftar is a military figure, backed by Tobruk government based in eastern Libya that refuses to recognize the U.N.-backed government, enjoys the support of several Arab nations, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, as well as western countries as France.