Haftar shows no will to negotiate end to fighting in Libya
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Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar has dismissed an initiative by the Tripoli based prime minister for negotiations to end the crisis.
Haaretz quoted Haftar as telling website almarsad.co that his fighters would press on with the weeks-long offensive until Tripoli is rid of what he described as “terrorist militias.”
The head of the Tripoli-based government, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj told a news conference Sunday he is proposing a “Libyan forum,” aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict. The talks would draw up a roadmap for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held before the end of 2019, al-Sarraj said. He didn’t say whether he wanted Hifter’s side represented but stressed the talks should not include “autocratic forces” — an apparent reference to the commander. In his remarks to the news website, Haftar dismissed al-Sarraj’s initiative and criticized him as an ineffective leader.
On Monday, the World Health Organization reported the latest casualty tolls for the fighting in and around Tripoli, saying 691 people have been killed so far, including 41 civilians, and 4,012 wounded, 135 of them civilians.
