[Libya Herald] Government of National Accord (GNA) foreign minister Mohammed Siala’s reference to Khalifa Hafter as commander of the Libyan army continues to draw flack from the general’s opponents.Siala used the expression during Monday’s summit of foreign ministers from neighbouring countries, staged in Algiers.
Today Misratan members of the House of Representatives (HoR) warned that his comment could pave the way for civil war and undermined local and international efforts to make the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) work. Every Libyan would pay a heavy price if it failed.
The statement from the members insisted that political players could not violate any of the provisions of the agreement. Their protest appeared to overlook the fact that the LPA is still not ratified by the rest of their parliamentary colleagues. The current Algerian-led peace initiative is looking for amendments that can be universally accepted.
The key sticking point for the HoR has been the relinquishing of parliament’s control of the armed forces to the Presidency Council (PC).
Though UNSMIL chief Martin Kobler has been saying that Hafter has an important role to play in a future unified armed forces, many Misratans object to Hafter because of his past as a Qadaffy general. On top of this there has been his crushing of the Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council Death Eaters in Benghazi along with their IS and Ansar al-Sharia
...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet...
terrorist allies. The BRSC was supplied from Misrata. Recently the Benghazi Defence Brigades led by Misratan revolutionary leader Mustafa Sharksi has tried to seize back the Oil Crescent export terminals and launch an attack to relieve fellow Islamist Death Eaters in Benghazi.
Meanwhile the walls 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...
’s foreign ministry where PC head Faiez Serraj and his colleagues receive visitors were today heavily fly posted with defaced pictures of Hafter, some with obscene logos.