According to “Nova” sources, the general and the French with the help of Sudanese mercenaries tried to capture the leader of FACT
The Chadian Front for Alternation and Concord (Fact), the rebel group that last April claimed responsibility for the killing of Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno , accused the brigade Tariq Bin Ziyad (linked to General Khalifa Haftar ) of having attacked one of its positions on the Libyan border with the support of Sudanese mercenary militias and under the supervision of the French army special forces based in Libya.
According to sources of “Agenzia Nova”, Haftar and the French with the help of Sudanese mercenaries also tried to capture – without success – the leader of the Fact, Mahamat Mahdi Ali,killing several officers and commanders of the Chadian rebels with a French drone.
Ali, on the other hand, would have remained unharmed.
“We inform the international community, the European Union, the African Union, the Community of Central African States (CEeac), the French and Chadian national opinion as well as the French media that there are five French officers among the ranks of the attackers mortar throwers.”
“The objective of this attack entrusted to the French special forces was to capture and / or kill the president of the Fact executive committee (Mahamat Mahdi Ali),” the Fact said in a statement.
“We would like to inform that President Mahadi is fine and he himself is directing the fighting and patrol operations still in progress this morning. The onslaught of the forces of evil has failed and the response of our valiant fighters has lived up to the fury of the Chadian people as a whole “, the statement continues, in which the rebels announce the killing of 11” enemies “and four Fact fighters.
“As you can see, France not only violates and despises our sovereignty by imposing and supporting the CMT (the Transitional Military Council that came to power in Chad after the death of President Deby and led by his son Mahamat Déby Itno), but violates the principle of the ceasefire announced last spring ”, concludes the statement.
The statement comes after information on dozens of deaths in a clash in Libya between the Fact militiamen and the Tariq Bin Ziyad brigade of the Libyan National Army, loyal to General Haftar, near Tmassah, south of Sebha, the capital from the Libyan southwestern region of Fezzan.
General Khaled al Mahjoub, director of the moral orientation department of the LNA, announced that “dozens of mercenaries have been eliminated in the southwest” of the country, confirming that an LNA soldier also lost his life in the clashes. “These mercenaries were carrying out criminal acts on Libyan territory”.
“Their vehicles were destroyed by ground forces with the support of the Air Force. These operations will continue until all mercenaries and terrorist groups are eliminated,” added Al Mahjoub.
In recent days, the Tariq Bin Ziyad brigade (where Haftar’s son Saddam serves) has made a pact with the 166th Brigade of the “city-state” of Misrata (west) to establish a joint force to secure the water system of the Great artificial river.
The same brigade Tariq Bin Ziyad is considered responsible for the death of Mohammed al Kani, leader of the “Kanyat” militia, killed on July 26 while resisting arrest in his Benghazi home.
Al Kani was wanted for the summary killings and for the mass graves found in Tarhuna, a town south-east of Tripoli, shortly after the retreat from the city of forces affiliated to General Haftar.
The Fact is a Chadian armed group held responsible for the death of President Idriss Deby – a close ally of France – on 11 April, following an attack by Chadian opposition forces from Libyan territories.
The Fact was founded by Mahamat Mahadi Ali, an intellectual who lived in France for 25 years as a political refugee and who in recent years has been able to forge circumstantial alliances to acquire armaments without exposing his fighters.
After having long supported the Third Force of Misrata, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Fact forces were “confined” to some bases of General Haftar’s Libyan National Army, while elements of this group would have deserted from Battalions 116 and 128 of the ‘Lna during the offensive against Tripoli.
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Clashes in Libyan south between Hafter’s forces and FACT – claims of French involvement
Sami Zaptia.
The War Division Information department of the Khalifa Hafter-led Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) (formerly known as the LNA) confirmed earlier reports of clashes with Chadian opposition forces in southern Libya yesterday.
The LAAF said ‘‘the special task force of Major General Tariq bin Ziyad (TBZ) is carrying out extensive military operations targeting mercenaries and elements of the Chadian opposition stationed on Libyan lands, where their positions were targeted in the Tarbu area on the southern border”.
The division’s units managed, during their clash with these armed groups, to destroy a number of their armoured vehicles and to eliminate those who were inside, and the remnants of these groups continue to be chased in the border areas.
The military operations that the Special Task Force fought also witnessed the martyrdom of one of its heroes’’
Meanwhile, FACT (The Front pour Alternation et la Concorde au Tchad / Front for Change and Concord in Chad) said TBZ affiliated to one Hafter’s sons and supported by Sudanese forces and ‘‘supervised by Special Forces of the French Army based in Libya’’ attacked FACT ‘‘positions on the Libyan border’’. It specified that the attacking forces included ‘‘three French officers assigned to Mortar fire’’.
FACT said ‘‘the objective of this attack entrusted to the French special forces is to capture and / or kill the President of the FACT executive Burcu’’.
It maintained that ‘‘President Mahadi is well and himself leads the operations of the fighting this morning and those of the sweeps still in progress.’’
It claimed that ‘‘The assault of the forces of evil has failed ‘’ and ‘‘The enemy came by a narrow path and left by seven different paths, in total rout.’’
FACT said that although the search operations are continuing, they were able to provide a provisional detailed report citing 11 dead enemy forces, ten wounded abandoned on the battlefield, several vehicles and war material destroyed and a recovered all terrain armoured fighting vehicle.
They also admitted to four deaths in their ranks and the loss of an armoured car.
FACT added: ‘‘As you can see, France not only violates and despises our sovereignty by imposing and supporting the CMT (the transitional military council of Chad) but also violates the principle of the ceasefire announced last spring. The Front for Alternation and Concord in Chad calls on the international community to witness.’’
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