Tunisia decries Libyan commander’s assault on Tripoli

By Afra Aksoy

TUNIS (AA) – An ongoing military campaign by renegade commander Khalifa Haftar -- launched with the aim of capturing Tripoli -- is “unacceptable” and must stop immediately, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said Wednesday.

Essebsi made the remarks during a phone call with Fayez al-Sarraj, leader of Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

“This unacceptable military campaign hurts the stability of Libya and endangers civilian lives,” Essebsi told al-Sarraj, according to a statement released by the former’s office.

Al-Sarraj, for his part, reportedly voiced his appreciation for Tunisia’s “brotherly stance” on the issue, going on to stress that the GNA would continue to resist Haftar’s forces.

Last week, Haftar, who is affiliated with a rival government based in the country’s east, announced the launch of an ambitious campaign to capture the capital, where the GNA is headquartered.

By Monday, however, Haftar’s campaign appeared to have lost momentum, with pro-GNA forces recapturing two military bases near Tripoli that had been briefly seized by Haftar’s forces.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya, with which Haftar is associated, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN support.