Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Badr Abdel Aaty has said that the invite to attend the Libyan tribes' conference, which will kick off in Cairo, was made to representatives of influential tribes, not to militias or political forces.
The remarks were made by the ministry upon news that circulated on Sunday stating figures affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, Fajr Libya and 17 February Martyrs Brigade were going to attend the three-day conference hosted by Egypt.
“The news is untrue. We did not invite any political groups or militias. We invited Libyan tribes, due to the privacy of the Libyan society. Tribes play a pivotal role in preserving Libya's unity. Thus, they can play a role in unity and on a consensus on components of the political solution,” Abdel Aaty told Anadolu Agency.
“We invited tribes from all over the country,” he added, saying that the number of attendees will range between 350 to 400 people.
Abdel Aaty added that Cairo called for the conference after the success of an earlier conference. It will include different geographic areas in Libya. He also said that Egypt will play an organizational role “without intervention in agenda of the dialogue or its goals or outcome, as this will purely be a Libyan issue.”
A state-run newspaper had quoted anonymous sources as saying that among the 300 attendees, there will be for the first time representatives for the Libyan tribes, figures affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, Fajr Libya, 17 February Martyrs Brigade
Edited translation from Anadolu Agency
