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Libya unity govt backed by 2 armed groups in the east
[Al Ahram] Two major gangs in eastern Libya announced their support Saturday for the UN-backed national unity government as it struggles to establish its authority in the east of the country.The Government of National Accord (GNA), established in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... more than two months ago, has been trying to unify violence-ridden Libya and exert its control over the entire North African country. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... it faces opposition from a competing authority based in the east which has its own armed forces -- militias and some units of the national army -- commanded by controversial General Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... Two major groups formerly loyal to Haftar, the special anti-terrorist force and a military intelligence brigade -- decided to throw their lot in with the GNA. On Saturday, the commanders of the two units held a joint presser with GNA defence minister-designate Al-Mahdi al-Bargathi to announce their decision. On the ground, meanwhile, forces loyal to the GNA said they had retaken an air base near the coastal city of Sirte, bastion of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (IS) jihadist group. The pro-government forces announced on Facebook they had "retaken control of Al-Gordabiya air base", 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of Sirte, the hometown of the late dictator Moamer Qadaffy. It said the GNA forces were able to take the complex with the backing of "five air raids against jihadists and their equipment". GNA forces also announced the "liberation from the hands of ISIS" (an Arabic acronym for IS) of the town of Abu Hadi, 15 kilometres southeast of Sirte. The unity government's forces and those of the rival authority in the east are currently engaged in a race to be the first to drive IS out of Sirte. The international community believes this could jeopardise efforts to defeat IS, whose threat has grown since they established a foothold in Libya at the end of 2014. On Tuesday, the UN's special envoy on Libya, Martin Kobler, had called on all the country's armed factions to unite against the jihadist group. He said the rival administrations that have established themselves since the fall of Qadaffy in 2011 should "unite their efforts" into a single army. Led by premier-designate Fayez al-Sarraj Fayez and internationally recognised, the GNA has already received the support of former authorities who controlled the capital and armed militias in the west. The Libyan Central Bank and the State Oil Company have also rallied to his authority. But the unity administration has yet to receive a vote of confidence in parliament, which remains linked to the former internationally recognised government also based in the east. Posted by: Fred 2016-06-05 |
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