The general Khalifa Haftar proclaimed himself head of Libya, in a televised statement in which he said he "accept the mandate of the Libyan people to deal with the country". The general declared null the Skhirat agreement which in 2015 established the creation of a national agreement government based in Tripoli, led by Fayez al-Serraj.
A dozen days ago, the general, after a series of military defeats that had allowed the government of Tripoli to recapture some cities on the coast towards the border with Tunisia, had returned to attack the capital, even cutting off water supplies.
The alleged coup announced it on al-Hadath TV last night, thus kicking off the conquest of Tripoli.
Just last Saturday, Italy, France and Germany with the European Union they had appealed to Haftar and al-Serraj for a humanitarian truce during Ramadan. So far Haftar had claimed his legitimacy to fight on the part of the citizens of Cyrenaica, in the east of the country, but now he has hinted that he can also count on the support of the rest of the country, even if he has not specified any details regarding this support. .
On the Haftar unilateral initiative, both the US embassy in the country and a United Nations representative rejected his statement, again calling on Haftar to negotiate with al-Serraj following a ceasefire for Ramadan. According to UN observers, today's move may even be the desperate and final act of those who consider themselves now close to defeat.
Russia, which actually supports Haftar, believes that the only way to resolve the conflict in Libya is to go through a political and diplomatic process. "In Moscow, we remain convinced that the only possible solution in Libya can be through political and diplomatic communication between all parties, especially those in conflict“Said the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Libya has been divided since 2014 between areas controlled by the Tripoli national agreement government (GNA), led by Fayez al Serraj in the northwest, and a territory to the east in the Benghazi area. Haftar is supported by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, while in Serraj by Turkey.