The Guardian: The Libyan bloodbath will continue unless foreign countries stop supporting Haftar

A senior adviser to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said that the support provided by the UAE, Russia and the United States to retired Libyan Major General Khalifa Hifter increases his military empowerment, but it exacerbates the suffering of the Libyan people.

In an article for the British Guardian newspaper, Frederick and Harry stated that Haftar's relentless pursuit of power in Libya is his motive for the war, citing him in an interview with him in 2014, saying at the time that he was planning to invade Tripoli to eliminate Islamists in all their spectrum by imprisoning them, exiling them, or Physically liquidate them.

But this expert on Middle East affairs confirmed that the winds did not flow so far as the Haftar vessel desired, as the rapid victory that he had promised was nothing but a mirage that caused - while chasing him - the loss of lives of 2000 people.

Wehri warned that the Al-Wefaq government was not very popular when Haftar launched his attack last year on the Libyan capital "because of the administrative inefficiency and the corrupt militias in Tripoli."

But he stated that a promising UN-sponsored operation was underway and was aimed at changing that government and tackling the militia threat, just before Haftar launched his attack on the capital.

He added that the attack on Tripoli raised concerns among Haftar's supporters, and, worse, it attracted external powers that contributed to fueling the situation by receiving weapons from both sides of the conflict.

Haftar, according to the expert, has the support of a group of authoritarian and anti-Islamist Arab countries, namely the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

He added that the role of the UAE air force was particularly devastating, as it carried out hundreds of strikes according to the United Nations, killing dozens of civilians. The French support for Haftar was also decisive, noting that Paris is driven by misplaced enthusiasm, as she sees Haftar as the strong man who can bring stability to Libya, which made her send him secret military aid several years ago.

Added to this - according to the author - hundreds of Russian mercenaries who arrived at the Tripoli front last September, which helped Haftar to break the deadlock.

But he pointed out that Moscow is not firmly attached to Haftar, but its strategy depends on his support at first to contain it in the future in order to reach an agreement between the Libyan parties in line with its aspirations.

As for the internationally recognized Al-Wefaq government, it has Turkish support, which has become more prominent after the two countries signed the agreement to demarcate the maritime borders between them.

Hifter is the reason
The writer used to talk about the recent Berlin conference on Libya, stressing that he had failed to impose a cease-fire between the two parties, blaming it on Haftar.

Indeed, in recent days, the writer says - Haftar resumed combat operations after he was encouraged by the increased influx of Emirati weapons, so he bombed the capital's airport, Tripoli, and civilian areas, and besieged the oil ports, which caused a significant decrease in production and increased the suffering of the Libyans, a dangerous escalation that could plunge the Libyan capital into a bath Unimaginable blood.

As for how it might contribute to averting this catastrophe, the author believes that the Americans ’greater role in pressuring Haftar would force him to change his plan, and in this context he quotes one of the leaders of the Al-Wefaq government as saying that“ Haftar will not accept a cease-fire Unless America pinches his ear, "which prompted the writer to call on Washington to drop its implicit and sometimes explicit support for Haftar, who was embodied in a April 2019 phone call from President Trump to the Libyan general.

Here, the strategist demanded that Washington move to stop this catastrophe, indicating that it has very important papers, such as pressing Haftar to stop his illegal attempt to sell oil unilaterally in the global market, and that it can induce the UAE to stop arming its forces, not to mention what it can do By him to enforce the implementation of the UN Security Council ceasefire resolution that includes strong measures against both violators of the embargo and human rights violators in Libya.