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Haftar forces launch push against militia in oil crescent
[Al Jazeera] The self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, 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...have mobilised to drive out rival groups from the country's northeastern oil crescent, according to security forces in Ajdabiya. Haftar's LNA announced on Sunday a "major offensive" after his forces lost control on Thursday of the Ras Lanuf and al-Sidra oil terminals - located about 650km east of 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... - to gangs that attacked the area. The LNA's air force on Sunday also told residents in the oil crescent to stay away from "areas where the enemy gathers, munition stores and sites with military vehicles". "Fighter [planes] are carrying out raids against terrorist positions and gatherings in the operational military zone stretching from Ras Lanuf to the edge of the city of Sirte," the air force said on its Facebook page. The LNA controls most of eastern Libya and is opposed to an internationally recognised government based in Tripoli, which has itself condemned Thursday's militia attacks. Ibrahim Jadhran, who heads the Petroleum Facilities Guard, said in a video on Thursday that he had formed an alliance to retake oil terminals seized by Haftar's forces in September 2016. Jadhran controlled the terminals for years following the 2011 overthrow and killing of long-time Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... , but were eventually forced out by the LNA. Posted by: Fred 2018-06-19 |
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