...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...
is liberated.
He called on Libyans to stand by the Libyan National Army (LNA) 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...Saleh’s statement came during a parliamentary session held in Benghazi in eastern Libya, which is under the control of Haftar’s forces.
Saleh said: "We will be going to the polls after liberating Tripoli," calling on the international community to protect Libya’s money and to lift the weapons embargo on the National Army.
He also pointed out Libya’s keenness to cooperate with the international community to combat terrorism.
"We need to get rid of militias and terrorist groups," Saleh who is allied to Haftar, said using a reference eastern officials often make to describe forces allied to the Tripoli government, which relies on support from several gangs.
"We assure the residents of Tripoli that the campaign to liberate Tripoli will be limited and not violate any freedoms but restore security and fight terrorism," Saleh told politicians in a session in Benghazi.
Haftar, 75, a former general in Qadaffy’s army who later joined the revolt against him, moved his troops out of their eastern stronghold to take the oil-rich desert south earlier this year before sweeping up to Tripoli at the start of April.
But Serraj’s national accord government has managed to halt the advance for now, aided by forces with machine-guns on pickups and steel containers across the road into Tripoli.
The Tripoli government says it has taken nearly 200 prisoners from Haftar’s forces, according to Rooters.
The United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
, which had hoped to organize a national conference this month bringing the rival eastern and western administrations together to organize an election, has called for a ceasefire.
The United States, G7 bloc of wealthy nations and European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...have also urged the LNA to halt its offensive.
Tripoli-based Foreign Minister Mohammed Siyala urged the UN Security Council to call on Haftar to halt the advance.
The UN health agency said it fears outbreaks of tuberculosis, measles and diarrhoea due to poor sanitation, especially among those displaced.