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2016-10-05 Africa North
Rift emerges between Khalifa Haftar and Wirshiffana's tribal army
[Libya Observer] The so-called Tribes Army of Wirshiffana has responded angrily to a recent order by rogue 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...
to his aides to abandon the commander of the army, Brigadier Omer Tantosh.

During a military rally in Wirshiffana on Monday, supporters of Tantosh, all are still loyal of slain Qadaffy, said the order of Khalifa Haftar is totally rejected.

Last month, Khalifa Haftar ordered his militias in western Libya to abandon Omer Tantosh saying he is no longer part of his self-proclaimed Libyan National Army.

Tantosh and his militias used to fight alongside with Khalifa Haftar's in the past two years, but because of superiority complex, Khalifa Haftar decided to abandon him.

"We call the President of HoR in his capacity as Supreme Commander of the Libyan Armed Forces to reconsider some orders and abuses committed by Khalifa Haftar, which could delay the liberation," Tantosh supporters said in a statement, while referring to the planned attack on 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...
.

The supporters also said that Khalifa Haftar's order is an insult to all Wirshiffana tribes.

Brigadier Omer Tantosh was a senior commander in former Qadaffy brigades. In 2011, he took charge of the western region's front lines. He was locked away
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
in 2012 before being released by Zintan town in 2014 to join the fight against Libya Dawn
...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar...
forces. He then formed the so-called Tribes Army of Wirshiffana and joined Dignity Operation.

In August 2016, President of HoR Aqailah Saleh appointed him as the commander of the military zone of Wirshiffana under Khalifa Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army.

Posted by Fred 2016-10-05 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ]  Top
 File under: Arab Spring 










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