[Asharq al-Aswat] Libya’s eastern military commander General Khalifa Haftar... 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...
again accused on Monday Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates...
of supporting terrorist groups in Libya, while Egyptian and Libyan warplanes continued attacking positions and arms caches in several Libyan cities controlled by those groups.
In a message addressed to the entire Libyan Army units, Haftar said that Qatar, in addition to other states that he refused to mention, were handing large sums of money to the terrorist militias, adding that he had ordered that foreigners should not be allowed to carry arms inside Libya.
"The Libyan army recorded the arrival of citizens from Chad, Sudan and other African and Arab states to the country. They entered Libya due to lack of control over the borders. They received money from Qatar, as well as other countries and terrorist groups," he added.
Haftar’s statement said: "Any foreigner carrying arms in Libya will be nabbed
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
and punished collectively or individually."
Meanwhile,
...back at the laboratory the smoke and fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight...
Egyptian and Libyan warplanes shelled for the third consecutive day, terrorist positions in the area of Jafrat, while Egypt continued its
In the latest related development, forces loyal to Libya’s UN-backed unity government seized control of 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...
’s international airport and Russian and Egyptian officials held talks in Cairo.
Russia affirmed its support for Egypt in its war against terrorism, during the visit of Russian Foreign and Defense Ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Sergey Shoigu to Cairo, where they met with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
For his part, the Egyptian president said challenges facing the Middle East require that both countries work together to eliminate terrorism and reinstall stability in the region.