...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. Actually, he is, but slowly...described as "media marketing" a cease-fire announced Friday by the internationally-backed government but didn’t explicitly say whether they’d accept or reject the initiative.Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army is ready to defend Sirte, the central city that’s the gateway to the OPEC member’s key oil assets, front man Ahmed al-Mismari said Sunday in a televised address. Intelligence received by the LNA suggests the "intentions of the enemy to attack our forces in the regions of Sirte and Jufra," he said.
Friday’s cease-fire announcement by the internationally recognized government 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...
, and a reciprocal call the head of the eastern-based parliament, followed United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
-mediated talks seeking to end more than a year of conflict in the North African nation.
Haftar’s forces, which have been backed by Russian mercenaries, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, fell back to Sirte after a failed offensive to capture, Tripoli, the capital, and home to the