|
France withdraws its Haftar-supporting troops from Benghazi
[Libya Observer] Military and security sources revealed Wednesday that the special French troops that are supporting 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... ’s militias withdrew from Benghazi three days ago, saying it is possible that they come back again. The Anadolu News Agency reported the same sources as saying that they noticed the absence of the reconnaissance aircraft, which are probably for the French troops, over the last few days. The reasons behind this move are yet unclear, however, it comes following the statement of the member of the UN-proposed government, Mohammed Al-Emmari, who said La Belle France vowed to stop its military operations in Benghazi after it was informed that the government is upset about them, besides the summoning of the French Ambassador to Libya. Last month, La Belle France announced that three French soldiers were killed while on intelligence mission when their helicopter crashed in eastern Benghazi, which was an official admission that French troops are operating on the ground in eastern Libya. Posted by: Fred 2016-08-11 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=464456 |