Khalifa Haftar - The African Mirror

Jan

2021

Libya releases bodies found in mass graves for burial

LIBYAN authorities have released two bodies found in mass graves in the city of Tarhouna after the Tripoli government retook it in June from Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). They are among the first to be identified since the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) began exhuming scores of bodies from numerous sites in and around Tarhouna. Last week Human Rights Watch said hundreds of Tarhouna residents were abducted or reported missing after the local Kaniyat militia took control there in 2015. The Kaniyat, headed by members of the al-Kani family, was allied to the LNA and helped…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Turkey warns Libya’s Haftar and supporters against attacking its forces

NEWS

TURKISH Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has warned that the forces of Khalifa Haftar and their supporters based in eastern Libya would be viewed as "legitimate targets" if they attempted to attack Turkish forces in the region. Turkey is the main foreign backer of Libya's internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, which for years has been fighting Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA is backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. In October, the GNA and LNA signed a ceasefire agreement and the United Nations has been pushing a political dialogue aimed at elections…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Top Egypt officials visit Libya capital for first time in years

NEWS

SENIOR Egyptian security officials have visited the Libyan capital Tripoli for the first time in years and held talks with officials from the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), the Libyan interior ministry said. The visit was the first for senior Egyptian officials to Tripoli since 2014 when the country entered a civil war between the GNA, based in the capital, and the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalifa Haftar. Tripoli's government is backed by Turkey while LNA is backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Libya descended into chaos after the NATO-backed overthrow of…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Libyan investigators find more mass graves in recaptured city

NEWS

LIBYA authorities have dug 12 bodies from four more unmarked graves in the city of Tarhouna, adding to the scores of corpses already discovered since the area was recaptured in June by the Government of National Accord (GNA). Tarhouna had for years been controlled by a militia known as the Kaniyat, run by the local Kani family, which fought alongside Khalifa Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA). The GNA has issued arrest warrants for Kaniyat leaders who are now believed to be in eastern Libya. When Turkish support helped the internationally recognised GNA take back Tarhouna in a sudden advance…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Libya’s NOC lifts force majeure on oil, except where fighters remain

NEWS

LIBYA’S National Oil Corporation (NOC) has lifted force majeure on what it deemed secure oil ports and facilities but said the measure would remain in place for facilities where fighters remain. On Friday eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said his forces would lift their eight-month blockade of oil exports but did not say if they would leave the facilities they control. Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) and allied forces including mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group hold some of Libya's largest oil fields and export ports, and the NOC had already rejected any return to operations until they left the facilities,…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Libya’s Haftar says he will lift oil blockade, with conditions

NEWS

EASTERN Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar announced on Friday he would lift for one month his blockade of oil output and said he had agreed with the rival Tripoli government on "fair distribution" of energy revenue. A resumption of oil exports after the eight-month blockade would relieve mounting financial pressure for both sides in the Libyan conflict and could remove a major obstacle towards a political settlement, but it is not yet clear if the declared agreement has wider support. "We are ready to open oil fields, to secure the future of Libya, for one month," Haftar said in a statement…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Turkish, Russian officials to meet in Ankara for talks on Syria, Libya

WORLD

TURKISH and Russian officials will meet in Ankara this week for a new round of talks on developments in Syria and Libya, where the two countries back opposing sides, Turkey's Foreign Ministry has announced. "Consultations between Turkish and Russian interagency delegations on Libya and Syria will continue at a technical level on 15-16 September 2020 in Ankara," the ministry said. Khalifa Haftar Ankara and Moscow are the main power brokers in Libya's war and have been holding talks on a lasting ceasefire and political settlement. Russia supports the eastern-based forces of Khalifa Haftar, while Turkey has helped the internationally recognised…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Protesters set government building on fire in eastern Libya

NEWS

PROTESTERS set fire to the government's headquarters in the Libyan city of Benghazi, as rare demonstrations over living conditions and corruption continued in the east of the country for a third day. The protests late on also erupted in Al-Bayda, where the government was previously based, in Sabha in the south, and for the first time in Al-Marj, a stronghold of eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar, witnesses said. Libya has been split into rival camps with parallel institutions in the east and west since 2014. Eastern Libya and much of the south is controlled by Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Libyan families file U.S. lawsuit accusing LNA leader Haftar of war crimes

NEWS

HUMEYRA PAMUK TWO Libyan families filed a civil lawsuit in a U.S. federal court late on Thursday accusing Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), of war crimes, human rights abuses and torture during a 2016-2017 offensive to seize a key Libyan district, a court filing showed. The complaint, the third filed in a U.S. court against the military commander, is linked to 2016-2017 siege of the Libyan district of Ganfouda, which had been encircled for months as Haftar waged a years-long military campaign to drive Islamist-led opponents from eastern city of Benghazi. The fate of civilians trapped…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Turkey says any Libya ceasefire deal requires Haftar withdrawal

NEWS

ORHAN COSKUN and DOMINIC EVANS TURKEY and Russia agreed on Wednesday to keep pushing for a ceasefire in Libya, but Ankara said the leader of the eastern forces was not legitimate and his forces must withdraw from key positions for any credible deal to emerge. The two countries are the main power brokers in Libya's conflict, where they support opposing sides. Russia backs the eastern-based forces of Khalifa Haftar, while Turkey has helped the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) repel Haftar's attempt to storm the capital. "We've just reached an agreement with Russia to work on a credible and…