The commander of the army of the House of Representatives (HoR), General Khalifa Haftar, told France24, on Wednesday, that the head of the Presidential Council (PC), Fayez Al-Sarraj, is not controlling the capital city, Tripoli, because it is for all Libyans.

Haftar denounced the statement of Al-Sarraj who said that it is folly for Haftar to think of entering Tripoli by force. Haftar commented that Al-Sarraj shouldn’t say that as he is an engineer who must only talk according to his specialization. He added that if the danger threats Tripoli “we will be there.”

Observers said that Haftar talks as if he is the only leader for the country like Gaddafi who always stated that he was the leader who has no official position in Libya.

The observers added that Haftar wasn’t happy because he saw Al-Sarraj welcomed by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, as the official president of Libya.

About fighting terrorism, Haftar stressed that he would continue fighting the groups who act like Daesh, such as Al-Qaeda, The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), and the extremist of Muslim Brotherhood. He described all these parties as enemies and one thing; adding that no talks with them.

On the other hand, the head of Justice and Construction Party, the political arm of Libyan Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Sowane, said that Paris meeting brought significant results, such as apparent changes in the attitude of Haftar who tried to impede the Political Agreement. He added that the out comes of the meeting means that Libya wouldn’t be a militarized country.

Observers said that Haftar announced in the interview that he would continue his war in Libya under the umbrella of fighting terrorism although he failed to fight Daesh. They added that instead of fighting Daesh, Haftar helped Daesh to exit Benghazi and let them go to other places in Libya.

The observers added that moreover, Haftar and his forces opened the ways for Daesh groups, who were defeated in Derna last year, to go smoothly to Sirte and Bani-Walid.

In the same context, Haftar told Al-Hayat newspaper that he knows where Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi is; adding that he considers him as regular Libyan citizen. He welcomed any political role of the son of Gaddafi wants to play.

Haftar talked about a meeting to be held in Egypt with military officers to prepare for unifying his army.

Observers said that Haftar who openly talks about cooperation with the Egyptian military and the UAE to win his war in Benghazi, he accused Qatar of causing the troubles in Libya.

The observers expressed that it is strange for Haftar to accuse Qatar while he opens the airspace for Emiratis and Egyptians to bombard targets in Libya.

The observers stressed that Haftar is trying to remix the cards in Libya as he says that Qatar supports terrorism despite the attitudes of the US and the EU towards Qatar, who announced that Qatar is not supporting terrorism but in fact helps in fighting terrorism.

They added that it is the opposite, the UAE is accused of violating the arms embargo on Libya. The UAE also established an air base in Libya to support Haftar. Furthermore, the UAE is accused by the UN that it also abused the human rights in Yemen. It is worth mentioning that the UAE had established an air base in Yemen to imprison Yemenis.

Haftar talked even about Tunisia, clarifying that there is no security cooperation between Libya and Tunisia. But the Tunisian Defence Minister, Farhat Al-Hershani, denied the allegations of Haftar. Al-Hershani confirmed that the security agreement with Libya is stable.

From his side, the Tunisian military expert, Mukhtar Ben Nassr, confirmed that there is a big security cooperation between Tripoli and Tunis. He commented that Haftar is on the eastern side of Libya. Therefore, Haftar doesn’t know if there is any collaboration between the two neighbouring countries.

Observer said that it is a shame on Haftar, who presents himself as the Libyan army leader, to talk about something he doesn’t know anything about it. He added that it was better for him to avoid talking about the nature of the security relationship between Tunis and Tripoli.

The question that needs an answer is:

What Haftar intends to do after Paris meeting?

Is he to commit to the agreement or to continue his war in Libya?

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