...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...'s Libyan National Army, accused Government of National Accord head Fayez al-Sarraj of collaborating with terrorist groups.
Libyan National Army (LNA) front man Ahmed al-Mismari has warned of a possible terrorist attack on the so-called "Oil Crescent" ‐ an oil-rich coastal area spreading from Tobruk to Es Sider in eastern Libya.
"A very large meeting of terrorist and illegal gangs took place in [the northern Libyan city of] Sirte today; we know who they belong to and, they have a plan proposed at the meeting on attacking the ’Oil Crescent’," al-Mismari told news hounds on Tuesday.
Earlier, he'd pointed the finger at Government of National Accord (GNA) head Fayez al-Sarraj for making a deal with terrorists, and claimed that "there are alliances between the government and terrorist organizations".
Al-Mismari argued that al-Sarraj had stopped being a politician the moment he showed support for terrorist groups, and that the GNA's head will eventually reap the fruit of his "blind support for terrorist organizations".
His remarks came after the GNA’s Presidential Council condemned the LNA
s on Mitiga Airport in 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...
, describing them as "a war crime and a crime against humanity, which is violating all national laws and international agreements and which made sending ill and maimed people to hospitals impossible at this difficult moment".
Last Thursday, the LNA troops of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, a former supporter of Libya’s late former leader Muammar Qadaffy
...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse...
, marched on the capital Tripoli in a bid to wrestle it from alleged "terrorists".
Forces loyal to the Tripoli-based and UN-supported Government of National Accord (GNA) said, in turn, that they were launching a counteroffensive operation, dubbed Volcano of Rage.
The Libyan political standoff has been in place since National Transitional Council forces, supported by NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
, murdered the country's former head Muammar Qadaffy in October 2011.
The country was then divided between the parliament, which was elected in 2014 and is based in the city of Tobruk and supported by the LNA, and the GNA, which was formed as part of a UN initiative and controls the western part of the country, including the capital Tripoli.