Le Monde: Tripoli battle is no longer in favor of Haftar

The retired Maj. Gen. Khalifa Hafater has never been defeated since it began its assault on Tripoli three months ago, like when the National Reconciliation Forces occupied its headquarters in Gharyan, the southwestern gateway to Tripoli.

The development, according to France's Le Monde newspaper, is a critical turning point in the Tripoli offensive, which has already become a military impasse since it began on April 4.

The writer of the newspaper Frederick Rubin considered that the defeat of the Hafitar forces in Gharyan changed the rules of the game, representing "a break in the chain of military command" of these forces in the vicinity of Tripoli, according to researcher at the Middle East Institute Emad Badi.

Ghajrayan was taken by Hafar's forces, the main military operations room in the western region, which provides logistical support to its forces south of Tripoli.

The recession comes at a time when Hafer is already suffering from real military difficulties in the suburbs of Tripoli, which has been a major inconvenience to his regional supporters, particularly the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who convinced them that the liberation of the capital was only a matter of a few days.

Rubin pointed out that the first indicators of the shift in the balance of power between the forces of Hafar and the forces of the national consensus government, was the entry of Turkish aircraft in these battles for the benefit of government forces.

"The arrival of Turkish warplanes as the real turning point in this conflict has made the difference by damaging the morale of Hafar's forces and putting them on the defensive," the author of the Klingendel Institute in The Hague quoted Jalal al-Harshawi as saying.

In addition to Turkish support, the internationally recognized government of Mr. Fayez al-Sarraj exploited the internal schisms in Gharyan itself, where elements of the anti-Hafer movement operated clandestinely, and "local groups based south of Garyan took sudden action from within in coordination with units from abroad." To Emad Paddy.

According to the writer, what facilitated the operation was that the forces of Hafar concentrated all their strength on the fighting in Tripoli at the expense of maintaining Gharian.

Although the fall of Gharian does not mean at this stage the defeat of the forces of Haftar in the battle of Tripoli, it weakens much and reveals how fragile, according to the writer.

Lefther was left in the suburbs of Tripoli from a strong bond only to the city of Tarhona, according to Rubin, is enough to continue to supply his forces in areas such as Ain Zara and the international airport, the author asks.

Can Huffer persuade his regional supporters to continue to support him? This is what al-Harshawi doubts. He sees that his foreign sponsors are tired of him, and the environment is no longer conducive to begging for support. "

In such renewed circumstances, the writer says that cease-fire initiatives or a political solution may find a ringing ear that revives diplomatic efforts.