The Presidential Council of Libya’s Government of National Accord has described as a “farce and a new coup” the statement by eastern-based military leader Khalifa Haftar that his Libyan National Army (LNA) was accepting a “popular mandate” to rule over the country.
Haftar’s withdrawing from the 2015 Skhirat political agreement was not a surprise for the Tripoli-based government, the council said. It added that the commander’s move was an attempt to disguise the LNA’s “defeats and authoritarian plans of the field marshal,” TASS reported on Tuesday.
Militias loyal to Haftar have been trying to capture the capital, Tripoli since last April. International efforts to enforce a ceasefire in the country have been unsuccessful.