Realpolitik hinders hunt for killer of Italian researcher in Egypt

Italy’s attempts to put pressure on Egypt over the brutal killing of researcher Giulio Regeni are being hampered by a competing national security concern: getting Cairo’s cooperation on Libya.

Regeni’s murder early this year, which many experts believe was committed by agents of the Egyptian state, has created intense diplomatic tensions between Rome and Cairo, culminating in the recall of Italy’s ambassador to Egypt last month. Egypt has insisted it was not involved in Regeni’s death.

Italy and its allies who support the fledgling UN-backed government of Fayez al-Sarraj in Libya are mired in a complex fight in which Egypt’s alliance is seen as key to the new government’s success.

A senior Italian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saidItaly was concerned about Egypt’s alleged support for Khalifa Haftar, the anti-Islamist commander of Tobruk government forces in the east. The official claimed Egypt was giving military aid to Tobruk, causing an obstacle in the peace process.

Haftar commands forces battling against Libya Dawn, an alliance of western Libyan militias, some of which support the UN-backed government and some the Islamist-led national salvation government, also based in Tripoli.

Italy’s foreign ministry declined to comment on Egypt’s alleged support for Tobruk forces. But the intense wrangling will colour the next steps Rome takes on the Regeni matter.

Farj Selim al-Habaty, the Libyan military attache to Cairo, who is loyal to the Tobruk government, said: “There’s cooperation on an intelligence level, but there’s no export of weapons from Egypt to Libya.”

He added that the support was “just logistical” and that Egypt will eventually support the Libyan unity government, once the country’s parliament has finished voting on the issue. The next step, he said, was “calling for the lifting of the arms embargo”.

While the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, has openly backed Haftar politically, he also met Sarraj this month.

Paolo Gentiloni, Italy’s foreign minister, said this month that Haftar “can and should” have a role in a transition government in Libya but that his role would ultimately be decided by the Sarraj government.