AMMAN — Libyan Presidential Council Chairman Fayez al-Sarraj arrived in Amman on Dec. 1 on an official visit that coincided with an unannounced visit by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army. The Jordanian government did not disclose the reason for Hifter's trip. The simultaneous visits by the two opposing officials whet the appetite of commentators about a possible Jordanian role as a mediator between them. 

Libya has been plagued by political and military divisions since the fall of the regime of long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In its wake, two governments have been vying to establish their authority over the country, with competing armed tribal groups adding to the chaos. Hifter, who is allied with the so-called Interim Government based in the east, in al-Bayda and Benghazi, does not accept Sarraj’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), which was formed as a result of the Libyan Political Agreement, signed in December 2015 in Sukhirat, Morocco, under UN auspices.

Article 8 of the LPA designates the head of the GNA as supreme commander of the Libyan army, but Hifter has refused to concede on the matter. In 2016, Hifter’s forces seized control of the main oil ports in eastern Libya.

According to a Jordanian security official who spoke to Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity, Amman's involvement in attempts to reconcile the Libyan parties is not a spur of the moment initiative. Over the past three years, Jordan has been working in coordination with France and Italy to urge the two sides to disarm militias, launch a national reconciliation effort, share power, unify the military establishment under the new government and start rebuilding the economy.