The Foreign Ministry in Libya’s Government of National Unity criticized the visit of the interim Prime Minister to Egypt, sparking a coordinated campaign led by supporters of the Egyptian regime to attack the Tripoli government.

The reception of Osama Hammad, head of the interim government in eastern Libya, by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly was faced with criticism from the Government of National Unity in Tripoli.

While Cairo chose not to respond to these criticisms, supporters of the Egyptian regime groups organized an online campaign attacking the Government of National Unity.

The hashtag #The_Egyptian_People_Support_Libya’s_Unity resurfaced, quickly becoming one of the most trending topics in Egypt, with 1,059 posts. The hashtag generated 1,867 posts, garnering approximately 361,000 views, according to Meltwater, a leading social media content analysis tool.

Activity times on #The_Egyptian_People_Support_Libya’s_Unity – Meltwater

A total of 655 accounts participated in the hashtag, with 943 posts originating from accounts with unknown geographic locations. Indicators suggest that some of these accounts may be fake, including their low follower counts, lack of direct engagement with posts, and their activity being limited to sharing content from other accounts that are mainly involved in government propaganda. The interaction of these seemingly fake accounts constituted 46.3% of retweets out of a total of 865 posts. Replies and comments made up 41.1% (768 posts). Original posts constituted only 6% of the activity, according to Meltwater. The high retweet rate, combined with the low number of original posts, suggests that the engagement with the hashtag may have been coordinated.

Type of posts on #The_Egyptian_People_Support_Libya’s_Unity – Meltwater

Resurgence of Tensions

On August 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Libyan Government of National Unity criticized Egypt's reception of what it described as "parallel entities," referring to the head of the interim government in eastern Libya. The Ministry stated that the visit "has no real effect except that it deviates from the unified international stance opposing the return of the country to a state of division and conflict." The statement also noted that the visit "clearly contradicts the expected Egyptian, Arab, and regional role in supporting Libya's unity, stability, and shielding Libya from attempts to sow discord."

A few days after the visit, on August 13, 2024, the House of Representatives in eastern Libya—described by its western opponents as illegitimate—voted to end the mandate of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, recognizing Osama Hammad as the representative of the "legitimate government." Dbeibeh dismissed the decision as a "political opinion." 

Dbeibeh's transitional government was initially selected by members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, with support from the United Nations, to pave the way for general elections scheduled for December 24, 2021. However, ongoing political disputes have since prevented these elections from taking place.

Hammad's visit to Egypt, coupled with the Libyan Foreign Ministry's criticism of the visit, has reignited simmering tensions between Tripoli and Cairo, the lateral having supported retired General Khalifa Haftar, commander of eastern Libya's forces, in his 2019 offensive against the Government of National Unity. These tensions are further exacerbated as Haftar advances toward the triangular border between Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria, prompting Tripoli to raise its state of alert.

Most Influential

Following the statement issued by the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, groups known for their support of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and his government pushed the hashtag #The_Egyptian_People_Support_Libya’s_Unity into social media discussions, using it as a platform to attack the Government of National Unity. These groups played a significant role in popularizing and spreading the hashtag, leveraging a network of accounts that share similar political interests. Many of these accounts feature Sisi's image as their profile picture and display the Egyptian flag along with nationalist symbols in their bios.

The hashtag also saw significant activity from the account "El Maestro" (Bassem Bekhit), who initiates the majority of coordinated pro-government online campaigns in support of the Egyptian regime. El Maestro posted the first tweet on X at 10:31 PM Egypt time, triggering a flood of targeted tweets on the hashtag. He contributed to the campaign with 196 tweets, while his other account on X retweeted 13 posts from his primary account.

El Maestro started his posts by saying, "I want to tell our brothers in Libya that for Egypt, the Dbeibah government is a government with an expired mandate, and any decisions they make are just ink on paper as far as we’re concerned. The country most invested in Libya's unity is Egypt." He added, "Sirte and Jufra are a red line," referencing a statement made by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in mid-2020 during the military conflict between Khalifa Haftar's forces and the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya. Sisi's remarks coincided with the retreat of Haftar's forces in the face of advances by the GNA, which was supported by Turkey.

Many of the accounts that participated on the hashtag #The_Egyptian_People_Support_Libya’s_Unity also engaged with hashtags that promote the Egyptian president and his policies, attack the regime's opponents, and incite against refugees, such as:

#Egypt_with_Sisi_is_Ready_for_the_Challenge, #June_30_The_End_of_the_Hashish_Heads, #The_Egyptian_Army_is_Capable_and_Ready, #Don’t_Test_Egypt, #Egypt's_Hands_are _Extended, #Deporting_Refugees_is_a_Popular_Demand_for_National_Security, #No_to_Legalization_No_to_Settlement, #Deporting_Refugees_is_a_National_Duty, #Deporting_Refugees_is_a_Popular_Demand, #Egypt_is_for_Egyptians

Crossposting, Facebook Pages and Groups

The activity surrounding the hashtag #The_Egyptian_People_Support_Libya’s_Unity extended to Facebook, where it was disseminated through pages and groups with hundreds of thousands of members. These unofficial propaganda pages and groups often have names indicating their affiliation with the regime, such as: “Presidency, Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s Media,” “Egyptian General Intelligence,” “National Security,” “Lovers of the Egyptian Army,” “Voice of Egypt,” “Your Alternative Media,” and “Achievements of the President.”

Some pages manage related groups; for instance, the page “Lovers of the Egyptian Army,” which oversees seven closed groups and is followed by 209,000 people, regularly posts propaganda content supportive of the Egyptian regime and critical of its opponents.

Among the managers of the “National Security” group are journalist Dandrawi El Hawari, Executive Editor of the “Youm7” newspaper and website—known for its support of the regime—and social media influencer Mohamed Noor, owner of the regime-supporting page “El Wa'i Nour” (Awareness is Light).

In these groups, the Government of National Unity led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh is repeatedly labeled as "illegitimate." One frequently recurring post states: "[Mandate] of the Dbeibeh government is expired and illegitimate. Egypt only deals with legitimate governments. Egypt is present in Libya whether anyone likes it or not and will actively contribute to reconstruction. Sirte and AlJufra are red line, and those who don’t like it should bang their heads in a wall.”