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Khalifa Haftar

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Khalifa Belqasim Haftar
Bornc. 1943
Ajdabiya, Libya
Allegiance Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
(until 1987)
 Libya (2011–2014)
Service / branchLibya Libyan Ground Forces
RankGeneral
Battles / warsChadian–Libyan conflict (1978–1987)
Libyan civil war
Battle of Ajdabiya
Third Battle of Brega
Operation Dignity

Khalifa Belqasim Haftar (Template:Lang-ar; born ca. 1943) is a Libyan general and the principal commander of one side in the ongoing Libyan Civil War of 2014. There are several variations of his name transliterated into English, for example Heftar, Hafter, Hifter, Hefter, etc.

Haftar was born in eastern Libya. He served in the Libyan army under Muammar Gaddafi, and took part in the coup that brought Gaddafi to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Gaddafi. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship.[1] In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death.

Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Gaddafi forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War which toppled Gaddafi. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war.

Early life

Haftar was born in Ajdabiya circa 1943,[2] and is a member of the al-Farjani tribe.[3] He graduated from the Benghazi Military Academy and then went on to receive military training in the Soviet Union and Egypt.[4][5]

Early years in the Gaddafi government

As a young army officer, Hafter took part in the coup that brought Muammar Gaddafi to power in 1969, assisting Gaddafi in the overthrow of Libya's King Idris. Shortly thereafter, Hafter became a top military officer for Gadhafi.[6] He commanded Libyan troops supporting Egyptian troops entering Israeli-occupied Sinai in 1973.[5]

Like other members of the Free Unionist Officers (the junta that toppled the monarchy), Haftar was a secularist and a Nasserist.[4][7] He was a member of the Revolutionary Command Council which governed Libya in the immediate aftermath of the coup.[4] Haftar later became Gaddafi's military chief of staff.[8] In the late 1980s, Hafter commanded Libyan forces during the Chadian–Libyan conflict, which ended in defeat for the Libyan forces.[9]

War with Chad

In 1986, he had attained the rank of colonel, and was then the chief officer in command of Gaddafi's military forces in Chad in the Chadian–Libyan conflict. During the war, in which the Libyan forces were either captured or driven back across the border, Haftar and 600-700 of his men were captured as prisoners of war, and incarcerated in 1987 after their defeat in the Battle of Maaten al-Sarra.[10] Shortly after this disastrous battle, Gaddafi disavowed Haftar and the other Libyan prisoners of war captured by Chad. One possible contributing factor to Gaddafi's repudiation of Haftar and of other captured prisoners of war may have been the fact that Gaddafi had earlier signed an agreement to withdraw all Libyan forces from Chad, and Haftar's operations inside of Chad had been in violation of this agreement.[11][12] Another possible reason given for Gaddafi's abandonment of Haftar was the potential that Haftar might return to Libya as a hero and thus pose a threat to Gaddafi's rule itself.[4] In any event, Gaddafi's repudiation clearly served to embitter Haftar towards Gaddafi.

In 1986 and 1987 the Government of Chad accused Libya of using toxic gas and napalm against central government forces and against rebel forces. Libya may have used mustard gas delivered in bombs by AN-26 aircraft in final phases of the war against Chad in September 1987. The wind blew the agent back onto the Libyan forces.[13]

Escape to the United States

Gaddafi demanded Heftar’s soldiers be returned to Libya, but the Americans arranged for them to fly to Zaire instead. There half his soldiers decided to return to Libya. When U.S. financial aid to Zaire was not forthcoming, Zaire expelled the remainer to Kenya.[14] Kenya only provided temporary residence, and the American CIA negotiated a settlement around 1990, enabling Heftar and 300 of his soldiers to move to the United States under the U.S. refugee programme.[6][14]

Haftar moved to suburban Virginia outside Washington, D.C., living in Falls Church until 2007 and then in Vienna,[15] where he was ostensibly trained by the CIA in Langley.[12][14]

In March 1996, Heftar took part in a failed uprising against Gaddafi in the mountains of eastern Libya, before returning to the U.S.[14]

Role in the Libyan Civil War

In 2011, he returned to Libya to support the Libyan Civil War. In March, a military spokesperson announced that Haftar had been appointed commander of the military, but the National Transitional Council denied this.[16] By April, Abdul Fatah Younis held the role of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Omar El-Hariri serving as Younis' Chief of Staff and Haftar took the third most senior position as the commander of ground forces with the rank of lieutenant general.[17][18] Younis was assassinated later that summer.[19]

Operation Dignity

Main article: Operation Dignity

In February 2014 Haftar appeared in a televised announcement to announce that the controversial Islamist-dominated General National Congress (GNC), which had recently unilaterally extended its mandate, had been dissolved. Haftar called for a caretaker government to oversee new elections. His announcement was soon dismissed with great skepticism by the then acting Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. Haftar's actions were condemned as a "coup attempt" and "ridiculous".[20][21]

Three months later on 16 May in Operation Dignity, Haftar began a combined air and ground assault against the pro-Islamic militias of Benghazi, as well as a sustained heavy weapons attack against the Libyan parliament.[22] At the time of the Benghazi assault Haftar, who had already been the target of assassination attempts,[23] reportedly explained to a friend that he was fully aware of the personal safety risks involved in his actions.[24] On 20 May 2014, four days after the Benghazi assault, the GNC announced that it had finally scheduled the long postponed elections that were meant to result in the dissolution of the GNC and its replacement by a new representative assembly, to be known as the House of Representatives. These elections were scheduled for 25 June 2014.[25]

Later in May, after having been ousted from office by the GNC, Ali Zeidan then endorsed Operation Dignity,[26] along with 40 members of parliament,[27] and the heads of the navy,[28] the air-force,[29] and much of the army. In June 2014, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle at Haftar's residence in Benghazi, killing 4 people and injuring at least 3 others. Haftar was not injured in the attack.[30]

In eastern Libya Haftar's air and ground forces remained in place, and seemed to be gaining general support. Over the course of May and June numerous pro Operation Dignity marches were held throughout Libya,[31] and in the June 25 elections, the secularists gained a clear mandate over and against the Islamist agenda.[32] Meanwhile, despite its initial denouncement of Operation Dignity in May,[33] Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani's administration has since continued to give no word of any further official endorsement or denouncement of Haftar's Operation Dignity. However, the newly-elected parliament has branded Haftar's enemies "terrorists".[34]

Haftar remains resolute that one of the aims of Operation Dignity is to completely dismantle the Libyan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as what he considers to be any other Islamist terrorist organizations within Libya.[35][36]

References

  1. ^ Chorin, Ethan (May 27, 2014). "The New Danger in Benghazi". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Hamid, Hoda (April 14, 2011). "The Real Battle Is Yet To Come". Aljazeera/ Information Clearing House. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  3. ^ John Ruedy (1996). Islamism and Secularism in North Africa. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 195. ISBN 0-312-16087-9.
  4. ^ a b c d Saadah, Ali (May 22, 2014). "Khalifah Haftar - A New Al-Sisi in Libya". Middle East Monitor. The Middle East Monitor. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b Borzou Daragahi (May 23, 2014). "Khalifa Haftar, a hard-headed Libyan warrior". Financial Times. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Mohamed Madi (May 20, 2014). "Profile: Libya's renegade General Khalifa Haftar". BBC. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  7. ^ Basturk, Levent (May 20, 2014). "Khalifa Haftar: A portrait of a coup general". World Bulletin. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Mohamed, Esam (May 18, 2014). "Renegade Libyan general says parliament suspended". Tripoli, Libya. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Baker, Russ. "The Fake Arab Spring, 2011".
  10. ^ Valiente, Alexandra (August 28, 2011). "Khalifa Haftar: Libyan CIA Asset". Libya: Libya 360 degree Archive. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ M. Brecher & J. Wilkenfeld, A Study of Crisis, p. 92
  12. ^ a b Russ Baker (April 22, 2011). "Is General Khalifa Hifter The CIA's Man In Libya?". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Schneider, Berry. "Weapons of Mass Destruction, 2014".
  14. ^ a b c d Russ Baker (April 22, 2014). "Is General Khalifa Hifter The CIA's Man In Libya?". Business Insider. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  15. ^ Abigail Hauslohner and Sharif Abdel Kouddous (May 20, 2014). "Khalifa Hifter, the ex-general leading a revolt in Libya, spent years in exile in Northern Virginia". Washington Post. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  16. ^ McGreal, Chris (April 3, 2011). "Libyan rebel efforts frustrated by internal disputes over leadership". The Guardian. Benghazi, Libya: theguardian.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "The colonel feels the squeeze". The Economist. May 19, 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Mark Urban (April 15, 2011). "The task of forming a more effective anti-Gaddafi army". BBC News. Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "Mystery over Libyan rebel commander's death". Al Jazeera. July 29, 2011. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Baroud, Ramzy (February 20, 2014). "The Libyan Bedlam: General Hifter, the CIA and the Unfinished Coup". London, UK: Middle East Online. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved May 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; May 19, 2014 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Priyanka Boghani (May 31, 2014). "The man at the center of the chaos in Libya: Khalifa Haftar". GlobalPost. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  22. ^ Elumami, Ahmed; Ulf Laessing (May 18, 2014). "Gunmen loyal to ex-general storm Libyan parliament, demand suspension". Tripoli, Libya. Reuters. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "Libyan army, ex-rebels clash near airport". The Washington Times. Associated Press. December 11, 2011. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ Oakes, John (May 30, 2014). "Karama – Some Notes On Khalifa Hafter's Operation Dignity". Libya Stories. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  25. ^ "Libya announces elections: Will it help calm the violence?". CNN. May 20, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ "Operation Dignity gathers support" (in English/Arabic). Tripoli: Libya Herald. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  27. ^ "40 Libyan MPs pledge support to renegade general Haftar". Istanbul, Turkey: Worldbulletin News. May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  28. ^ "Rogue general gets more top allies". Cape Town, South Africa: News 24. May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  29. ^ "Libya's Interior Ministry Back Rebel General Khalifa Hifter". Nigeria: Nairaland. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ Esam Mohamed (June 4, 2014). "Suicide bomber targets rogue Libyan general's home". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; May 19, 2014 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ Kouddous, Sharif (May 24, 2014). "Thousands march for 'dignity and reforms". Gulf News. Dubai. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ Libyan poll sees Islamists losing
  33. ^ Alaa al-Ameri (May 17, 2014). "Actually, There Are a Bunch of Benghazi Conspiracies". Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28916417
  35. ^ "Liberating Libya: General Vows to Crush Terrorists". June 13, 2014. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ Mary Fitzgerald (June 7, 2014). "General Haftar's anti-Islamist campaign divides Libyans". BBC. Retrieved August 26, 2014.

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