...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...group for torture, forced disappearances and displacement of civilians in the conflict-hit country.
"Mohammed al-Kani and the Kaniyat militia have tortured and killed civilians during a cruel campaign of oppression in Libya," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
He vowed US solidarity with Libyans, saying Washington "will use the tools and authorities at its disposal to target human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal
liberty...
abusers in Libya and across the world."
The Kaniyat militia shifted allegiances from Libya’s recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in April 2019, to the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), the US agency said.
"In June 2020, following a de facto truce, GNA-aligned forces re-entered Tarhouna and discovered at least 11 mass graves containing the bodies of civilians previously detained by the Kaniyat militia, including women, children, and elderly," it said. "Some of the dear departed appeared to have been tortured, burned, or buried alive. The Kaniyat militia is also responsible for hundreds of summary executions at Tarhouna prison, numerous forced disappearances, and the displacement of entire families from Tarhouna."
Earlier this month, the Libyan authorities discovered five mass graves in the same area in Tarhuna where 12 bodies were exhumed.
Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Qadaffy
...Proof that a madman with money will be politely received for at least 42 years until his people get tired of him and kill him...
in 2011. The GNA was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed because of Haftar’s military offensive.