The reopening of the Lockerbie bombing case has drawn sharp criticism from Dr. Abdullah Al-Ashaal, Egypt’s former Assistant Foreign Minister. In an interview with Libya’s Al-Wasat TV, Al-Ashaal described the renewed focus on the case—particularly the prosecution of Libyan national Abu Ajila Masoud, currently detained in the United States—as an attempt to politically pressure Libya.
Al-Ashaal warned that the United States is exploiting Libya’s instability and internal divisions to revive old files for strategic gain. He pointed to Libya’s frozen assets in the US as a possible target of financial opportunism.
The veteran diplomat cautioned against what he described as a decades-old plan to divide Libya into its historical regions—Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan—similar to a 2013 map published by The New York Times, as he said. He highlighted the risk of further fragmentation if Libyans fail to unify across the country’s east, west, and south.
Al-Ashaal tied Libya’s fragile state to broader regional dynamics, including the displacement of Palestinians and the destabilisation of Sudan. He referenced historic attempts at Arab unity, such as the 1970 plan to form a union between Egypt, Syria, and Libya, arguing that Western powers, particularly the United States, thwarted such efforts to preserve their own interests.
He called on Libyans to recognise the seriousness of the moment and rise to the challenge. “There is no solution without Libyan men who understand the danger and are ready to protect their homeland,” he said.
Al-Ashaal also noted the significant impact of Egypt’s internal focus between 2011 and 2014 on Libya’s fate, stressing that Egypt’s stability is closely tied to Libya’s own future.
