The former UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, told Jeun Afrique magazine on Wednesday that two Libyan governmental officials in Tripoli told him, before April 2019, that General Khalifa Haftar was preparing to attack Tripoli.
He stated that the governmental information alerted him to tell the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, that Haftar had ordered his troops to move towards Tripoli.
Salame stressed that he warned Guterres twice that Haftar had already started moving towards Tripoli. He added that he felt that the resistance against Haftar would be strong on the Tripoli side.
Some say that Salame wanted to confirm that the UN and the International Community ignored the news deliberately. It looks like some critical international sides wanted to give Haftar the chance to control Libya from Tripoli.
Salame then tried to justify Guterres’s reaction by saying that he was working on bringing Haftar and the former Presidential Council (PC), Fayez Al-Sarraj, to a meeting to talk about how to stop the war before it begins.
Observers say that the Libyans and the world should consider Salame’s statement because it contains some important confesses that could incriminate the UN for letting Haftar lead his war against Tripoli.
Some stated that even after Haftar was defeated and lost his war, the UN and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) are still trying to include Haftar in the reconciliation efforts, considering him an excellent factor to reunite the Libyan Army.
The western side of Libya still suffers from the crimes of Haftar, who had destroyed buildings, houses, and public facilities. Moreover, they had also imposed some of Haftar’s followers to become part of the current PC and Government. Haftar’s victims in Tripoli, Benghazi, Derna and southern Libya are clear evidence that Haftar is a real war criminal.
Salame also said that Haftar had caused death and deconstruction, and he opened the doors for international interference. He added that Haftar had obstructed the peace process in Libya for a year and a half, then he was defeated.
Salame confirmed that the number of mercenaries is huge because Haftar had brought them to fight on his front against Tripoli. He said that Haftar’s mercenaries were brought from some African countries, confirming that even Russia sent mercenaries of Wagner Group to fight in the Haftar army against Tripoli.
