National Army in Libya charged to administer country, fight terrorism, Turkish intervention

CAIRO – 25 April 2020: As several popular and civil parties in eastern Libya have declared that they entrust the Libyan Army to lead the country, the Supreme Council of Libyan Sheikhs and Elders announced Friday charged the Libyan National Army (LNA) to administer the affairs of the country, form a national government, and impose security all over Libya.

Spokesperson for the council, Abu Bakr Suleiman Mardamah said in March that Libyans support the LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to fight terrorism and Turkish invasion of Libya.

The council has announced steps to sue Qatar and Turkey for committing war crimes in Libya, affirming that Libyans have declared the call for Jihad, not to fight against other Libyans, but to encounter the Ottoman occupation.

He also stressed that all the Libyan tribal members have been fighting in various axis under the umbrella of the LNA to confront the Ottoman occupation that tried to break the bonds among the Libyans and spread conflict across the country.

Haftar is fighting terrorists who are loyal to Turkey and exist mainly in Tripoli, the capital, and in the surrounding districts which are still under the control of the militias of the so-called Government of the National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.

Haftar had on Thursday reiterated his call on the Libyans to abandon the Skheirat agreement, signed between rival parties in Morocco in 2015, and overthrow the GNA presidential council, which he accused of committing crimes that “amount to high treason.”

The council has undermined the dignity of the people, relinquished the sovereignty of the state and destroyed its economy, he said in a televised address. It has also employed oil revenues in supporting militias and bringing in mercenaries.

“It even boasts of the crimes the militias have committed in Sabratha and Surman,” he added, in what was interpreted as a sign he will wage a counter-attack to recapture the two cities that were recently seized by the GNA.

According to Mardamah, some of members of terrorist organizations believe in the Muslim Brotherhood ideology. “All extremist organizations have emerged from under the cloak of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that does not enjoy popularity in our country,” he added.

Regarding the open borders and the crossing of foreigners into Libya, observers and experts stress that there is an attempt to disturb the border areas and undermine stability in Libya.

In previous remarks, Mardamah pointed out that the Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Elders monitored all suspicious calls from Qatar, who are trying to influence the national project led by the Libyan tribal leaders by supporting ideological and extremist agendas. Qatar is communicating with terrorist movements in order to implicate other regional countries in supporting terrorism in Libya.