Denis Korkodinov – Interview with Jamal Mohammed Khalleefah Alfalah
The commander of the Libyan National Army, under the direction of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, intends to launch a new attack on the position of the Government of the National Accord. Assistance in organizing a “trip to Tripoli” is provided, in addition to Russia, by the United Arab Emirates and Sudan, which relocated their army units from Yemen to strengthen the position of the Libyan military commander. Khalifa Haftar also relies on the support of the youngest son of Muammar Gaddafi Saif al-Islam, who plans to become the president of Libya.
Especially for World Geostrategic Insights, we talked about this with the Libyan political analyst Jamal Mohammed Khalleefah Alfalah (Libya, Benghazi).
1, During November 2019, at least two unmanned aerial vehicles of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance were shot down in the skies over Libya by the forces of the Libyan National Army. In particular, on November 20 and 22, drones belonging to the Italian Air Force were destroyed. Based on this, many experts came to the conclusion that the active intelligence activities of NATO countries in Libya indicate the creation in the near future of conditions for the escalation of the conflict between the forces of the Libyan National Army and the Government of National Accord. Is it really? Should we expect that soon the forces controlled by Khalifa Haftaru or Fayez al-Sarraj will go on the offensive?
– The Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has repeatedly warned NATO countries that almost 90 percent of the country’s territory is a military zone where aviation is prohibited. However, these warnings were ignored, as a result of which forces controlled by the VLA were forced to shoot down the drones of the North Atlantic Alliance, clearly pursuing the goal of collecting intelligence data. In addition to this, Khalifa Haftar, through his official representative Ahmed al-Mesmari, publicly stated that the war in Libya would continue until the capital of Tripoli got rid of terrorist groups and the Government of the National Accord, on whose support they did not rely. This was a clear signal to the entire international community that the Libyan National Army would not tolerate interference in the affairs of NATO countries.
In the short term, Khalifa Haftar will launch a new military campaign. And this time the LNA has enormous resources in order to win and enter Tripoli.
2. On November 10, 2019, the Minister of Government of the National Accord of Libya, Fathi al-Bashag, publicly accused Russia of fueling the conflict and asked the United States for help in resolving the situation. Does this mean that the Government of National Accord, through Fathi al-Bashag, actually called on Washington to organize a military invasion of Libya in order to exert pressure on Russia? Is there any reason to argue that after such statements by Tripoli officials, Libya could turn into another training ground for clarifying relations between the US and Russia? Do the statements of Fathi Bashag have political and military consequences in Libya?
– Statements by the Minister of the Interior of the Government of the National Accord of Libya, Fatah al-Bashag, do not attract local or international attention, since this government has lost international trust due to cooperation with terrorist elements. Therefore, regardless of the content of his words, they cannot cause any resonance.
Great interest in Libya is shown by many members of the international community, because in our country a lot of oil. It is Libyan oil that attracts special attention, including from Russia and the United States. Meanwhile, attempts to clash between Washington and Moscow in Libya are created artificially and are unlikely to lead to conflict, since Russia does not succumb to provocations.
3. The Turkish press has a rather widespread opinion that Russia and Turkey may seriously quarrel in the future over Libya, which will create general tension in the entire Greater Middle East. In particular, this is indicated in an interview with the YeniŞafak newspaper by Turkish reserve officer Fahri Erenel, who noted that a major conflict between great powers interested in new oil fields could begin in Libya. What do you think about this? Can Libya be the reason for the start of major conflicts between blocs of countries, on the one hand, led by Russia, and on the other, under the auspices of Turkey?
– Ankara, unlike Moscow, supports political Islam in Libya. For this reason, Turkey is perceived here as an undesirable state. Meanwhile, Russia defends the Libyan people and seeks to ensure peace. It is a friendly and strong country that maintains stability in the region.
Thus, in Libya, Russia and Turkey are in different camps. However, the existing agreements between Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan do not allow them to openly show hostility to each other for fear that this could negatively affect the Syrian theater of operations, first of all. Therefore, in Libya, neutrality acts between Moscow and Ankara: the parties actively support the opposite sides of the conflict, but try not to focus their attention on this. Meanwhile, after the Syrian problem is resolved, the attention of the entire international community can probably be riveted to Libya. And then the stakes in the Libyan conflict will rise sharply. In this case, there is a risk that Russia and Turkey may quarrel. But for now, talking about this is premature.
4. More recently, a video of the interrogation of the Islamic State militant Mohammed Ibn Imraa, captured by the forces of the Libyan National Army on October 20, 2019, was actively distributed on the Internet. During the interrogation, the terrorist admitted that he was preparing a terrorist attack in the vicinity of the city of Al-Aziziya, which was under the control of the forces of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. However, the most interesting thing is that Mohammed Ibn Imraa stated during interrogation that he intended to organize the attack on the orders of the Government of the National Accord of Libya. Is the government of Fayez al-Sarraj really cooperating with the Islamic State? Besides ISIS, do other terrorist organizations carry out the work of the Government of the National Accord of Libya? Is it possible, on the basis of this, to assert that Fayez al-Sarraj can use international terrorism not only inside Libya, but also outside it to achieve political goals?
– The Government of National Accord cooperates with many terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State, whose militants are used to commit acts of sabotage against the forces of the Libyan National Army. In addition, the cells of the still existing Salafi group Ansar al-Sharia, located in the vicinity of the city of Benghazi, are currently playing an active role in supporting the government of Fayez al-Sarraj. The militants of this group took part in the assassination of a key supporter of Muammar Gaddafi, Major General Abdula Fatah Yunis in 2011.
The authority of Fayez al-Sarraj relies on terrorists who provide his protection not only in Libya, but also in other countries.
5. Recently, the most active have become the media, controlled by the youngest son of Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam. At the same time, many experts are unanimous in the opinion that Saif al-Islam intends to become the sovereign leader of Libya, like his father. And Khalifa Haftar, in this case, is a tool for realizing the presidential ambitions of Saif al-Islam. In other words, the current leader of Khalifa Haftar in Libya is Saif al-Islam. Is this statement true? Can Saif al-Islam subsequently lead Libya?
– Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi has become very popular among the Libyan people because he stands for justice and wants to expel from our country all the terrorists who killed his father and started a civil war in the country. He intends to become president of Libya, for which he is conducting an active information campaign in which he talks about all the atrocities that occur through the fault of the Government of National Accord. The people consider Saif al-Islam a savior who can ensure stability and national reconciliation. Despite the fact that the International Criminal Court sentenced the son of Muammar Gaddafi to death, we consider this decision illegal. And we will never betray Saif al-Islam to our opponents. Saif al-Islam is not guilty of all presented points of the court verdict. He is our leader who will make Libya free!
Saif al-Islam has an army under the command of Khalifa Haftar, which will ensure his victory. The son of Muammar Gaddafi and the field marshal act in the same tandem, in which Khalifa Haftar plays the role of the hands, and Saif al-Islam plays the role of the head.
The commander of the Libyan National Army, despite his military talent, cannot lead the state. Therefore, he agrees to a supporting role. And when Saif al-Islam becomes the president of Libya, Khalifa Haftar is likely to get the post of head of government or defense minister of the country.