A Libyan military prosecutor on Tuesday ordered the arrest of General Khalifa Haftar and three other retired commanders namely Oun Al-Furjani, Abdelrazik Al-Nathori, and Al-Sharif Al-Buzaidi, reported The Libya Observer.
In an official statement issued by the military chief prosecutor’s office, Haftar and three retired commanders have been accused of commanding a Russian group that carried out kidnappings and murders on September 24.
Hussam Anbais, who is the only survivor of the Russian massacre of Wagner Group mercenaries in Esbea district, had filed a lawsuit against Haftar and accused him of bringing Russian mercenaries, kidnapping and killing his father, brother and brother-in-law.
“Ongoing investigations are following up on a lawsuit by Hussam Abuajila Anbais for the abduction and killing of Abuajila Anbais, Muhannad Anbais, Hamza Barbash, and the torture and kidnap of Hussam himself in Esbea district in southern Tripoli on September 24 by Russian armed group fighting for Haftar’s forces,” the arrest warrant read.
Haftar is currently leading the forces which launched a campaign to capture Tripoli from Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in April this year. The clashes have left more than 1,000 people dead and around 5,500 injured, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a NATO-backed uprising after four decades in power. Since then the oil-rich country has seen the emergence of two rival seats of power- one in eastern Libya led by Haftar, and the Tripoli-based GNA, which is recognised by the United Nations.
In related news, Amnesty International published a new report on Tuesday which said that the warring parties in the ongoing battle for Tripoli have killed scores of civilians by launching indiscriminate attacks and using a range of inaccurate explosive weapons in populated urban areas.
