Libya’s renegade commander Haftar announces Ramadan truce
Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar has said his forces would cease hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan following international calls for a truce in the war-torn North African nation. Ahmed Mismari, spokesman for Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), said in a television broadcast on Thursday the ceasefire came at the request […]
Libya’s renegade commander Haftar announces Ramadan truce
Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar has said his forces would cease hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan following international calls for a truce in the war-torn North African nation.
Ahmed Mismari, spokesman for Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), said in a television broadcast on Thursday the ceasefire came at the request of the international community and “friendly countries”.
The announcement came after pro-Haftar forces suffered a series of setbacks in recent weeks in their year-long campaign to seize Tripoli with forces loyal to the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) expelling them from two key coastal cities west of the capital.
Oil-rich Libya has been engulfed in chaos since 2011 when longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in a NATO-backed uprising.
It is now split between two rival administrations: The Tripoli-based GNA and the eastern-bsaed House of Representatives allied to Haftar. Last week, the UN, European Union and several countries called for both sides to lay down their arms during Ramadan.