LIbya: Haftar Over-Stretched?

Brief info on Libya before going into my blog:

The UN backed government in Tripoli is called the Government of National Account (GNA).

There is a rival government in Benghazi called the Libyan National Army (LNA). Khalifa Haftar is the leader of that government and is currently attempting to gain control of Tripoli.

Okay . . . is Haftar getting over-stretched?

Via Aljazeera we learn that Haftar isn't really making any ground in his two-month assault on Tripoli. The current situation:

Eastern Libyan forces launched air strikes for a second night on a military base housed within Tripoli's airport as fighting for the capital continues . . . The LNA, supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, accuses Turkey of backing the government in Tripoli and its forces.



Turkey might be providing support to the GNA. Haftar's forces are launching air strikes on the airport. Over-all, the article doesn't indicate there is any progress being made by his forces.

If this fight continues for much longer, will Haftar control in the east get challenged? Via Reuters:

Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for two car bomb explosions that targeted a military unit belonging to the eastern forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) in Derna earlier this week, the group’s Al-Nabaa newspaper said.

A total of 18 individuals were injured. It has to be remembered that one of Haftar's first moves in his attempt to control all of Libya was his move in Derna.

And then is President Trump getting upset with the slow progress Haftar has made? Via The Guardian:

On White House instructions, the US mission at the UN joined with Russia to block a UK-backed resolution calling for the end of Haftar’s offensive. Bloomberg reported that Trump and his national security adviser, John Bolton, had explicitly supported the offensive, and Haftar boasted to senior UN officials that Bolton had given him the green light for the assault, on the condition he acted quickly.  . . . Haftar has made similar claims before which turned out to be unfounded, a former Obama administration official said. With Haftar’s offensive stalled on the outskirts of Tripoli, Trump’s fleeting enthusiasm for Haftar has waned, and the lead on Libya policy has been handed back to the state department . . . Any US military involvement, however, would likely be resisted by Trump, who is keen to extricate the country from foreign military entanglements . . . France has voiced support for Haftar’s military efforts against jihadist groups in Libya, but has not backed his Tripoli offensive, which the general is said to have launched without informing even sympathetic governments.

Bolton is once again front and center in attempting to use military force versus diplomacy to resolve issues in other countries. Venezuela being another country. As mentioned in a previous blog post, Bolton's support for Haftar might be due to oil sanctions against Iran and a hope that a unified Libya would be able to pump more oil. Of course, this Tripoli battle has lasted 2 months, which indicates that the desired result isn't working out as well as Bolton might have hoped.

It is interesting how The Guardian notes that France has long supported Haftar's military efforts against jihadist groups, but not for this specific Tripoli offensive. Hmm? Is France talking with various newspapers to spin the story so that it doesn't come out negative for them should this offensive fall apart.

Also note how the US and Russia are backing Haftar while NATO ally Turkey appears to be backing the Tripoli government.