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| Africa North |
| East government: Reopening of Italian embassy in Tripoli is new occupation |
| 2017-01-14 |
| [Libya Observer] Foreign ministry of the interim government in east Libya has regarded the reopening of the Italian embassy and return of Italian ambassador Giuseppe Perrone to 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... as a military offensive. The government, headed by Abdullah al-Thanni, sent a "very urgent" diplomatic note on Wednesday to all Libyan embassies and consulates abroad to inform them about what it called "the military return of the Italian embassy to the capital." "An Italian military vessel loaded with soldiers and ammunition has entered the Libyan territorial waters. It is a clear violation of UN charter and a form of repeated aggression." The note read. Ambassador Perrone submitted his credentials in Tripoli on Tuesday to mark the reopening of his country’s embassy in the Libyan capital. A number of political commentators have deplored the hostile language in the diplomatic note of al-Thanni government, saying its denouncement of the entry of the Italian military vessel is double standards. "The Russian aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, entered the Libyan territorial waters and was visited by 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... without any comments from the interim government," a political commentator reacted. |
| Posted by:Fred |