“He [Haftar] is giving the impression of being reasonable while being totally unreasonable,” said the diplomatic source on condition of anonymity. “He’s become very divisive. He has done some good things, but he is clearly not Libya’s future.”
The international community had hopes that President Sisi of Egypt might play a role in bringing Haftar to the negotiating table. “President Sisi has said he supports the GNA and the LNA,” said the diplomat. “His challenge is how to bring them together. How do you make Haftar’s LNA subordinate to the GNA?”
GNA efforts to create a new unity army received a set-back last week, when Minister of Defence Al-Barghathi was targeted in a car bomb assassination attempt. He survived but four people were injured, including two children.
Al-Barghathi was in Benghazi meeting with members of the House of Representatives (HoR) when the attack took place. Since early this year, the HoR has been unable to provide a vote of confidence in the GNA government, partly due to conflicts over the role of Haftar.
Some sources are saying that Haftar, who has rejected the GNA and its efforts to unite Libya’s militias and armed groups under a single military stricture, was behind the assassination attempt. Many fear Haftar sees himself as a new strongman leader for Libya, and that he will provoke another civil war.
Adam can be contacted at adam@libya-businessnews.com and +44 7900 783662.
