By John Lee.
Eastern-based military leader Khalifa Haftar has said on Monday that his Libyan National Army (LNA) was accepting a "popular mandate" to rule the country.
According to Reuters, his announcement appears to brush aside the civilian authorities that nominally govern eastern Libya.
He also declared "the end of the Skhirat Agreement," a 2015 UN-mediated deal that consolidated Libya's government.
DW quotes him as saying:
"We announce that the general command is answering the will of the people, despite the heavy burden and the many obligations and the size of the responsibility, and we will be subject to the people's wish."
It adds that he did not say what form the new power structure would take, and that the broader political ramifications remain unclear.
(Sources: Reuters, DW)
