...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...
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. 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 forces, saying it is a stab in the back amid the efforts to reach a political solution in Libya.
Al-Sarraj indicated Saturday in an address on the Libyan state TV Channel that he met with Haftar many times and was positive that the results of those meetings would facilitate a political settlement to the crisis.
"When we hosted the UN Secretary General in Tripoli, we were surprised to hear about Haftar's military mobilization after the progress of the political solution in the country." al-Sarraj said.
He also said that his forces have been asked to be on high alert and that he declared mobilization of all forces in order to respond to the declaration of war by Haftar, who will gain nothing, but will only shed blood and destroy people's properties.
"All those involved in the current war on Tripoli will be brought to justice locally and internationally." al-Sarraj added.
He called on the international community not to look equally at the attacker and the defender which is preserving the civilian state, asking the countries supporting Haftar in his war to stop it.
These remarks come as forces under al-Sarraj's government command have defeated Haftar's forces in different frontlines in southern Tripoli, Tripoli Airport and on the road to Tarhouna, let alone foiling attacks in al-Zahraa, al-Saadiya and northern Gharyan.
In the meantime, the Libyan Air Force targeted Haftar's forces in al-Hira, Gharyan, and Wadi al-Rabea, vowing to target any other attacking forces on the ground.
The front man for Haftar's self-styled army Ahmed al-Mismari said Saturday that they had lost 14 fighters in the festivities so far, not mentioning the number of captives, which reports say amount to over 200.