Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar who is leading a military offensive against the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli, on Sunday, said he will continue the fight until militias laid down their arms.
During an interview published by French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Haftar said he is not ready for a ceasefire in the battle for Tripoli.
“Of course a political solution is the objective,” Haftar told the French publication, reported Reuters. “But to return to politics, we need to finish with the militias. The problem in Tripoli is a security one.”
Haftar went on to accuse the United Nations of seeking to partition Libya. He said the head of U.N. mission to Libya, Ghassan Salame, was no longer impartial.
“Partition of Libya is maybe what our adversaries want,” the Libyan eastern commander said. “This is maybe what Ghassan Salame also wants.”
He added that Salame is making irresponsible statements and has changed from an impartial and honest mediator into a biased one.
Haftar also said that those fighters who laid down their arms in the fighting for Tripoli would be allowed to return home safe and sound.
The Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA) launched a fight to take Tripoli from the army loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA) in early April. The LNA is still struggling able to breach the southern defences of Tripoli. The fighting has already killed more than 510 people and forced 75,000 to flee their homes. Thousands of migrants are currently trapped in detention centers.
Last week, French President Emmanual Macron asked Haftar in to take a public step towards a ceasefire in a meeting held in Paris. The Libyan commander refused the offer and went on to justify the attack on Tripoli by saying he was fighting against private militias and extremist groups who are gaining influence in the capital.
