Libya’s Grand Mufti urges public to fight Haftar forces

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar</p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) – Libya’s highest religious authority called on the public Thursday to take to the streets against military commander Khalifa Haftar’s campaign aimed at capturing the capital.</p> <p>“The Libyan people should resist and fight against Haftar’s forces in Tripoli in order not to see crimes against humanity committed in [the eastern cities of] Derna and Benghazi,” said Grand Mufti Sadiq Al-Ghariani, speaking to Al-Jazeera Mubasher television based in Qatar</p> <p> “It is no longer a secret that the UN mission in the country cooperates with Haftar,” said Al-Ghariani, referring to the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).</p> <p>He added that the UN mission was deployed in the country not to resolve problems but to exacerbate them.</p> <p>On Wednesday, Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Tripoli-based government, ordered security forces to “prepare for and respond to any threats aimed at destabilizing the region”.</p> <p>Earlier that day, Haftar, who is affiliated with a rival government based in the eastern city of Al-Bayda, reportedly ordered his forces to deploy to western parts of the country with a view to “purging the region of terrorist groups and strongholds”.</p> <p>Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power. </p> <p>Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power: one in Al-Bayda, to which Haftar is linked, and another in Tripoli.</p> <p>*Writing by Gozde Bayar

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