Retired Libyan Major General Khalifa Hifter announced the start of what he said was a decisive process for advancing towards the Libyan capital, Tripoli, while Al-Wefaq government forces vowed to thwart any new attack on the capital and downplayed Hifter's threats.
In a televised speech, Haftar announced the zero hour to storm the capital, and said, "The zero hour has come, the hour of sweeping sweeping that every free and honorable Libyan awaits, and our people in Tripoli have been watching since the terrorists invaded and settled in them by force of arms."
He directed his forces to move towards the heart of the capital, stressing that his forces were inevitably victorious.
The last suicide
On the other hand, the spokesperson for the Libyan Operation Berkan Fury, Mustafa Al-Naja’i, said that what Haftar is doing is a last suicide operation, and that what is on the Tripoli border is only a militia.
He stressed that Hifter has been repeating the same speech since the launch of his military campaign against Tripoli on the fourth of last April, and that Al-Wefaq forces managed to repel this campaign and defeat the attacking forces.
He stressed that the forces of the Al-Wefaq government today are stronger, more valiant and experienced, and that what Haftar militias have failed in the past nine months will not achieve again.
He emphasized that since last September their forces are facing a mixture of Russian, Janjaweed and Chadian mercenaries, with Egyptian and Emirati funding and leadership.
Visit Cairo
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Tripoli, Ahmed Khalifa, said that sources mentioned that Haftar's speech came after a visit he made to Cairo 24 hours ago, and that it is not the first time that the man announced the zero hour to storm Tripoli.
However, Al-Jazeera correspondent in Tripoli, Mahmoud Abdel Wahed, said that leaders of Al-Wefaq forces questioned the seriousness of the word Haftar, and said that there is information indicating that it was recorded earlier, but confirmed that there is a high alert in all axes of fighting south of the capital Tripoli.
He stated that Libyan media have confirmed that this is the fourth time that Haftar has announced the zero hour to storm Tripoli since last April.
UN action
For his part, a spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General told the island that they are at the United Nations against the continued fighting in Libya and call on all parties for a peaceful solution.
He stressed that the UN envoy continues to communicate with Libyan leaders to stop the fighting immediately.