Only a few areas of the country are not yet controlled by the Libyan National Army (LNA) armed forces commander-in-chief Khalif Hafter has claimed, according to libyaherald.com.
Hafter maintained the LNA now held territory to the west of Tripoli from Zuwara to the Tunisian border. In a few days, he said, Zawia, 30 kilometres west of the capital, would also be under its control.
Hafter told a gathering of LNA commanders in Benghazi yesterday: “The size of Libya is 1,760,000 square kilometres. The army is currently in control of 1,730,000 square kilometres. There’s only a little left.”
His announcement has been taken as an indication that the LNA would now move on Tripoli. Last December, he said that troops should be ready to “liberate” the capital.
However, Hafter made no mention of Misrata and its battle-hardened militias which though split between Islamist and non-Islamist forces, are assumed to be united in their suspicion and rejection of him and the Libyan National Army (LNA).
Moreover, the idea that LNA units might fight their way into the capital from the east is regarded as dubious. The eastern tribes which underpin the LNA are thought to have little appetite for any major battle away in the west of the country. His hope must be that, as has happened to the west of Tripoli, militias in the capital will declare for the LNA, thereby abandoning the Presidency Council (PC) and its leader Faiez Serraj.
Hafter said yesterday that his was a battle against terrorism which was working day and night to undermine the country. He said that the LNA had “no choice but victory”. The sharp divisions within the country between those struggling for power were weakening its stability.
He referred to a violent struggle between those who backed progress against backwardness, humanity against its enemies. Security was the highest priority and he called for security and military forces to advance under the law and with respect for human rights to triumph on the battlefield over terrorism.
