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Protest in Benghazi demanding UN envoy to Libya should leave
“You a furriner, bub? You look like a furriner. We don’t like furriners round these parts.”
[Libya Observer] Tens of protesters took to the street in Benghazi, eastern Libya, calling on the UN envoy Ghassan Salame to leave for his "intentional negligence of the role of the Libyan army in fighting terrorism and for favoring Islamists over the army."

"Salame is always issuing statements to fool the public opinion." the protesters said in a televised statement.

They denounced as well Salame's statements that doubt the objectives of the current military operation in southern Libya, led by 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...
, accusing him of being biased to the Presidential Council.

The protesters took it as far as burning the photos of Salame in front of Benghazi municipal council, demanding him to leave as "he is biased to Islamist Politicians."

Such denouncing voices of Salame in areas controlled by Haftar come after the former had criticized the military operation led by Haftar in southern Libya in a briefing at the UN Security Council two weeks ago, blaming him as well for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Derna.

Salame's statements caused him lots of trouble with the east-based authorities which called for avoiding dealing with him and sacking him from the UNSMIL.

Haftar's force front man Ahmed al-Mismari said last week that Salame has become a foe and part of the crisis in Libya, not the solution."

Last night, Salame was interviewed by a Haftar-loyal TV channel, and he said he was in constant talks with Haftar to reach a political solution to the crisis.


Posted by: Fred 2019-02-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=533322