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| Africa North |
| Libya’s Derna suffers as Haftar’s LNA tightens siege on city |
| 2017-08-08 |
| [Iran Press TV] The Libyan National Army (LNA), a militia group led by 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... , has tightened a crippling siege on the northeastern city of Derna as the renegade military strongman seeks the permanent ouster of rival militia from the region he controls in eastern Libya. Residents of Derna said Monday that a decision by Haftar last week to tighten the long-standing siege on the city has made their life extremely difficult. "The situation is extremely bad. Everything is stopped, the supplies are depleted and nothing is getting into the city," one resident said, adding, "There is a total blockade with no entry or exit. They only allow you to leave as a displaced person." The siege around Derna was reinforced after snuffies from the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council (DMSC), which controls the city on the Mediterranean, shot down an LNA fighter jet at the end of July. The pilot of the jet was killed in the incident. Haftar, a former general under slain dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland... , has been backed by countries like Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in his quest for ultimate power in Libya. Last month, he announced victory against a rival coalition of bully boyz in Benghazi, which lies around 350 kilometers from Derna. |
| Posted by:Fred |