Libya’s GNA ready to thwart any attack by Haftar forces

TRIPOLI

Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) said Thursday it is ready to thwart any attack by forces affiliated with renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar.

Mustafa al-Majai, spokesman for the GNA’s Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) operation, was responding to a statement by Haftar on launching an offensive to capture the capital, Tripoli.

Al-Majai said any attack by Haftar’s forces would be suicide.

The spokesman said the GNA was ready to confront his forces and noted that Haftar’s remarks came after the GNA’s successful operation in the country’s Yarmouk region.

Stressing that the government is closely monitoring foreign support for Haftar, he said such support by these countries is a violation of the arms embargo on Libya.

Haftar’s occupation operations against Tripoli have been ongoing for the past eight months without gaining any major successes on the ground.

On Thursday, he said he instructed militants to launch a “decisive battle” to capture the capital.

Since the ouster of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas