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Libya's "coup" general gains more allies, tensions continue

22 May 2014 02:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Libya's Major General Khalifa Haftar, whose military actions have been condemned as a "coup" by the parliament, has gained more allies as the biggest party in the parliament, the air force chief and the country's UN ambassador all showed their support to him on Wednesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The National Forces Alliance, the biggest party in the Libyan congress, on Wednesday voiced their support to Haftar, as he " fights terrorism and its funding sources."

On the same day Libya's air force chief Juma al-Abani announced via a video message that he had joined "Operation Dignity," Haftar 's campaign against "terrorists."

Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim al-Dabashi has also shown his support by saying that Hafter's operation was "a nationalist move."

Haftar, who played a major role in toppling Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi, is now waging a war on the parliament and trying to force it to abandon power. He claimed that his maneuvers were to purge "terrorists" from the authorities, but his actions have been condemned as a "coup" by the parliament. He has recently won more and more followers, including those from the Benghazi Special Force and Tobruk Air Base.

For the past two days clashes have sporadically erupted between pro- and anti-Hafter militias in and around Tripoli. Gunfire and explosions could be heard every several hours.

President of Libya's interim parliament Nouri Abu Sahmain on Monday called a militia from Misrata for help, asking them to confront the "attempts to take over power" in Tripoli. But the lawmakers were holding meetings, trying to figure out a peace solution.

Since the downfall of Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has become an arena for different interest groups who all tried to fill the power vacuum in the North African Country.