Rogue Libyan general's 'coup' against Islamists unleashes wave of violence
Khalifa Haftar survived a suicide bomb attack Wednesday. He is battling Islamist militias backed by allies in Libya's parliament. Meanwhile, a Red Cross official was shot dead in Sirte.
Khalifa Haftar survived a suicide bomb attack Wednesday. He is battling Islamist militias backed by allies in Libya's parliament. Meanwhile, a Red Cross official was shot dead in Sirte.
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A rogue Libyan ex-general's effort to eliminate the Islamist militias that have flourished in Libya since 2011 has unleashed a wave of violence and chaos. Reuters described the situation in Libya today as "anarchy," while The Washington Post warned of a聽"full-blown civil war."
On Wednesday, that former general, Khalifa Haftar, survived an assassination attempt outside Benghazi, Libya's second city. Meanwhile, in Sirte, a Red Cross worker was killed, and in Tripoli, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the prime minister's office.聽Ahmed Maiteeq has only been in office since last month, and is Libya's fifth prime minister since the聽removal of former dictator Muammar Qaddafi聽in 2011. Mr. Maiteeq was elected during a chaotic parliamentary session. Today he聽lost a court ruling on the legality of that election, Reuters reports.
Libya's political instability has allowed armed groups to become as pivotal in the country's direction as its elected leaders. Mr. Haftar says his unsanctioned campaign against Islamist militias is needed because the government is too weak to bring them to heel, but the government has decried his actions 鈥� which including airstrikes 鈥� as a coup. Haftar's forces also stormed the parliament last week.
Yesterday a suicide bomber blew up a jeep outside his base outside Benghazi. Haftar vowed "a strong response."
In an interview with The Washington Post last month, Haftar denied that he is seeking power:
Yesterday a Swiss Red Cross official was killed in Sirte, a coastal city in central Libya that is largely outside government control, when his car was stopped by armed men in civilian clothing, the Associated Press reports.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Libyan military officials said that Islamist militias, including the extremist group Ansar al-Sharia, are a growing problem in Sirte, according to AP.
In an op-ed for The Los Angeles Times, Frederic Wehrey, a senior associate with the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, warns that Haftar's unilateral move sets a "dangerous precedent" of "coup politics and military takeover" in Libya.聽
The chronic instability is leading to growing calls for a strongman figure to lead the country, not unlike Egypt's newly elected president and former military chief, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Mr. Wehrey writes.
In Al Monitor, a Libyan living overseas writes about his impression when he returned after three years away. He is from Bani Walid, one of the last towns to fall to the rebels during the 2011 revolution.