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Africa North

Airstrike by Haftar's Air Force kills three civilians

2019-08-26

[Libya Observer] An ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
<del>Arclight</del> airstrike

...KABOOM!...
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, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. 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 Air Force targeted Saturday a car in al-Sawani killing three civilians from one family and injuring several people.

This comes as Haftar's airpower has been engaged in the fighting more over the last time with strikes hitting targets 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...
, Misrata, Zuwara, Gharyan and other areas with a relative stalemate on the ground as Haftar's forces weren't able to advance amid constant advances for the Libyan Army under the Presidential Council's command.

Le Monde said last week that the reliance of Haftar's forces on airstrikes means that their ground operations are not viable.

Le Monde added that Haftar's Air Force's violation of the Eid al-Adha
...a major Moslem holiday, marked by animal sacrifice and ritual rioting...
truce was a sign of their weakness and that Haftar could use destructive ways in Tripoli as he would be more violent the more he lost.

It added that military stalemate of Haftar's forces in Tripoli and the loss of Gharyan affected his 'overseas-intended' image as a strongman.

The UNSMIL documented 37 attacks on health facilities since April, killing 11 - including 4 doctors - whom the UN said were killed by Haftar's forces on two field hospitals.

Posted by:Fred

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