Tripoli, April 28, 2020 – Libya’s UN-recognised government Tuesday accused rival military strongman Khalifa Haftar of seeking to stage a new coup after he claimed to have a “mandate” from the people to govern the country. “It’s a farce and the latest in a long series of coups d’etat,” the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in the capital Tripoli, said in a pre-dawn statement. The oil-rich North African nation has been gripped by chaos since the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival administrations in the east and west vying for power.
Haftar, who controls swathes of eastern Libya and in April last year launched an offensive to seize Tripoli, on Monday said his self-styled “army” had “accepted the will of the people and its mandate”. The military commander did not make clear however if a parliament elected in 2014 and also based in the east of the country backed his move. Haftar claims his legitimacy from that parliament which was forced to move its headquarters after violence ripped apart Tripoli six years ago.
The GNA said Haftar had “turned his back on the parallel political institutions that backed him and designated him” head of the army. Washington called for dialogue between the two sides and a “humanitarian” truce. “The United States regrets… commander Haftar’s suggestion that changes to Libya’s political structure can be imposed by unilateral declaration,” a statement on its embassy’s Twitter account said.
“As civilians continue to suffer during the holy (fasting) month of Ramadan and the COVID-19 pandemic threatens more lives, we urge the LNA (Haftar’s forces) to join the Government of National Accord in declaring an immediate humanitarian cessation of hostilities,” it said. Haftar has been accused by his detractors of seeking to impose a new military dictatorship in Libya. On Monday he announced the “end” of a 2015 UN-mediated agreement that produced the GNA. He made similar remarks in 2017 and three years earlier also appeared on television to say that he was taking the reins of power in Libya.
Haftar’s offensive to seize Tripoli has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced some 200,000 people.
AFP
Benghazi, Libya, April 27, 2020 (AFP) – Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar said Monday he had “a popular mandate” to govern the country, declaring a key 2015 political deal over and vowing to press his assault to seize Tripoli. In a speech on his Libya al-Hadath TV channel, he said his self-styled Libyan “army” was “proud to be mandated with the historic task” of leading Libya.
“We announce our acceptance of the people’s will and mandate and the end of the Skhirat Agreement,” he said, referring to a 2015 United Nations-mediated deal that produced the unity government. He did not make clear whether an elected parliament in the country’s east, a signatory to the deal, backed his move — or what its future role would be. Haftar has so far drawn his legitimacy from the administration based in the country’s east, and last April his forces launched an assault to seize the capital Tripoli, in the west, from the Government of National Accord. He said Monday his forces would work “to put in place the necessary conditions to build the permanent institutions of a civil state”. But an adviser to the UN-recognised GNA rejected Haftar’s speech on Monday. “Haftar has once more exposed his authoritarian intentions to the world,” Mohammed Ali Abdallah said. “He no longer seeks to conceal his contempt for a political solution and democracy in Libya. His statement tonight is the final, desperate act of a defeated man.”
Haftar had already indicated in 2017 that the Skhirat deal had “expired”. Last Thursday, he asked Libyans to choose an institution to govern the country after the end of the Skhirat deal. He also tabled the possibility of a “constitutional declaration”, raising fears that the country could end up being partitioned. Plunged into chaos with the toppling and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, Libya has largely come under the control of Haftar’s forces in the east and armed groups backing GNA in the west. Haftar’s offensive to seize Tripoli ground to a stalemate that has left hundreds dead and some 200,000 displaced.
