Libya’s eastern-based renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar has declared a landmark 2015 United Nations-brokered agreement to unite the country “a thing of the past”, and pledged his authorities would move towards creating a new government. “The political agreement destroyed the country. We will work to create the conditions for building permanent civic institutions, he said in a televised speech on Monday. Haftar did not make clear whether an elected parliament in the country’s east – under whose jurisdiction his forces nominally fall – backed his move, or what its future role would be. In April 2019, Haftar launched a military campaign to wrest control of the capital, Tripoli, but the offensive has largely been stalled by forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA). A counteroffensive by GNA-aligned troops in late March resulted in Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) being expelled from several key western cities. Haftar receives support from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. The GNA is backed by Turkey.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA