Libya’s Haftar appointed army chief for recognised gov’t

BENGHAZI, Libya — Former Libyan General Khalifa Haftar was appointed as army commander for the country's internationally recognised government on Monday in a decision that may complicate UN talks to end fighting in Libya.

Four years after Muammar Qadhafi's demise, Libya is mired in a conflict pitting the recognised government against a rival administration set up by an armed faction known as Libya Dawn that took over the capital Tripoli last summer.

The appointment of Haftar, a former Qadhafi ally who later joined the 2011 revolution against the Libyan leader, is likely to stoke tensions with the Tripoli government, which sees his rise as a sign that the old guard is gaining strength.

"The House of Representatives has appointed General Khalifa Belqasem Haftar as top military commander," said Tarek Saqer Juroushi, deputy head of the defence committee at Libya's elected parliament.

He said Haftar had been promoted to lieutenant general, adding that he would be sworn in on Tuesday or Wednesday.

A former general who helped Qadhafi come to power only to fall out with him in the 1980s, Haftar has become one of the most divisive figures in post-revolution Libya where he re-emerged on the
political stage last year.

Last year, he began a self-declared war against Islamist militants in Benghazi city. He gained support from some Libyans tired of their country's chaos, but also criticism for air strikes and attacks on civilian airports and seaports.

Haftar has merged his irregular forces with army troops in the east to fight disparate Islamist groups. But he has also targeted forces loyal to the Libya Dawn armed faction.

The United Nations is trying to organise peace talks between the rival administrations to defuse the violent power struggle that is threatening to tear apart the North African country.