Saudi Arabia funded Libya rebels push toward capital: Report

[Aramagedon]

Saudi Arabia funded Libya rebels push toward capital: Report

Libyan Marshal Khalifa Haftar, chief of the so-called Libyan National Army, leaves the main building of Russia's Foreign Ministry after a meeting with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Moscow on November 29, 2016. (AFP photo)

Libyan rebel commander General Khalifa Haftar has been directly supported by Saudi Arabia in his new campaign to seize control of the capital Tripoli, a new report has shown.

The Wall Street Journal said Haftar, who leads the so-called Libyan National Army, had been ensured of massive funds from Saudi Arabia during a trip to the kingdom before he started his push to seize control of Tripoli on April 4.

The report cited sources close to the Saudi government as saying that senior officials in Riyadh, including Saudi's intelligence chief and interior minister, had offered tens of millions to Haftar to pay for his bloody operation.

They said Haftar accepted the offer which could guarantee the support of tribal leaders and enable him to recruit and pay fighters.

“We were quite generous,” said an advisor to the Saudi government, according to the WSJ.

The newspaper also confirmed that Haftar had met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to the kingdom.


PressTV-Libya: LNA takes control of two regions in Tripoli
Footage released by the Libyan National Army (LNA) on Wednesday allegedly shows LNA forces after reportedly taking control over a base in Ain Zara and the Al Aziziyah in Tripoli.

The revelations comes against the backdrop of previous reports showing that Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, have been assisting Haftar and a rebel administration based in east of the country in their efforts to oppose an internationally-backed government in Tripoli.

“Haftar would not be a player today without the foreign support he has received ... The last few months, pretty much everyone jumped on the Haftar train,” said Wolfram Lacher, a Libya expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in comment provided to the WSJ.

Libya has been beset by violence since the overthrow of long-time dictator Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011 which came through an intervention by the NATO military alliance.

A patchwork of militant groups based in east of the country have resisted United Nations efforts to establish a government of national unity.

The United States and major powers in Europe have expressed their support for the Tripoli-based government while they have also received and met Haftar on several occasions.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-...-warlord-in-push-to-seize-tripoli-11555077600

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/04/13/593362/Libya-Haftar-Tripoli-operation-Saudi-support


Another Islamic country in civil war by Sudi petro dollars.

 

[Ghost 125]

well, who decides that which party is the rebel party. Most of the country is uner Khalifa Haftar's control so technically that makes GNA govt a rebel one. but who cares since both these groups rebelled against gaddhafi and now are reaping the fruits of civil war like stupid FSA in Syria

and in case you missed it Libya is in civil war since 2011 not just now. its just another offensive in the long civil war

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

Saudi Arabia Bankrolling Libyan General Haftar's Bid To Seize All Of Libya

Haftar would not be a player today without the foreign support he has received,” a Libyan affairs expert told The Wall Street Journal in a new lengthy profile of the Benghazi-based General Khalifa Haftar, whose Libyan National Army (LNA) is advancing this week on Tripoli.

As Haftar consolidated power over much of the country's war ravaged east, also making huge gains in the past year over the south, he's all along enjoyed the political backing of an unlikely assortment of powerful countries that include the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, France, and Russia. But the new WSJ report reveals his latest major external backer with endlessly deep pockets:

Days before Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to seize the capital and attempt to unite the divided country under his rule, Saudi Arabia promised tens of millions of dollars to help pay for the operation, according to senior advisers to the Saudi government.

Citing senior Saudi officials, the report reveals further the offer came during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia, as part of a broader trip which took Haftar to European capitals where the perception was that the renegade general now militarily challenging the UN-backed Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) was crucial to negotiating a lasting power sharing settlement between the eastern and western halves of the country.

The diplomatic meetings bolstered his status and resolve to take the whole country, even as lately the US and EU have vehemently called on him to halt the LNA's military advance, which lately included airstrikes on suburbs of Tripoli.

But apparently, the Saudis and possibly other backers are actually funding the assault on Tripoli, and further securing weaponry. The WSJ continues:

Mr. Haftar accepted the recent Saudi offer of funds, according to the senior Saudi advisers, who said the money was intended for buying the loyalty of tribal leaders, recruiting and paying fighters, and other military purposes.

“We were quite generous,” one of the advisers said.

The report also notes that with his so far rapid advance west, more previously reluctant European officials are jumping on the Haftar train. As we noted previously, "Libya's incoming strongman will send the oil out to Europe, and keep its migrants in."

But the Saudis only very recently emerged as apparently Haftar's prime backer, putting into motion the bloody battle for Tripoli that has now been on for a week. The WSJ reports that Haftar's March trip to Riyadh included a key meeting with crown prince MbS:

The following day, on March 27, he was welcomed in Riyadh by Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Undisclosed by the Saudi government at the time, he also met Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, along with Saudi Arabia’s interior minister and intelligence chief, according to two Saudi officials.

And now the question remains, if the Saudis are now so aggressively backing him, will Washington be next to officially jump on the bandwagon?

It should be noted that the likelihood is that he's already long been the CIA's man in Libya. What's not often stated outright is that Haftar is an American citizen, as recounted in a CNN profile this week: "Haftar is, to be polite, the ultimate pragmatist. He supported Moammar Gadhafi in his 1969 coup, then found himself in Langley, Virginia in the 90s where he gained US citizenship, before returning to overthrow Gadhafi in the 2011 conflict."



While in exile in the US he lived a mere minutes from CIA headquarters: "As a military commander, Mr. Haftar broke with Ghaddafi in the 1980s and became part of a C.I.A.-backed effort to destabilize the Libyan regime. He then spent two decades in exile in the U.S., before returning to join the rebellion in 2011," according to the WSJ report.

Interestingly, though the White House has urged Haftar to avoid military conflict while pulling a contingency of Marines from the country, Bolton's comments to the WSJ reveal that "condemnations" of Haftar's offensive might be coupled with a wink and a nod:

The U.S., meanwhile, has backed Mr. Haftar’s rivals in Tripoli. But before the attack on the capital, Trump administration officials expressed a willingness for Mr. Haftar to play a role in Libya’s future under a possible political settlement.

President Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, spoke with him by phone the day before the attack on Tripoli and urged him to stand down, according to a senior Trump administration official.

“I suspect he was on the move already” when Mr. Bolton spoke to him, the official said.

The past two days have witnessed the heaviest fighting in and around Tripoli thus far, driving over 6,000 people from their homes this month, and resulting in at least 58 deaths and about 300 wounded, according to the UN.

And it's about to get worse, as late Friday the LNA's military spokesman pledged, "Our Air force operations will increase" in the coming hours. The LNA has also issued an arrest warrant for Tripoli GNA government's beleaguered Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-12/saudi-arabia-bankrolling-haftars-bid-seize-all-libya

 

[Ghost 125]

at the moment Lybia is divided in 3 . if haftar can unite Lybia by capturing tripoli why not. but after watching a week and a half ofping pong battles its clear that both these monkey groups cant fight and do anything substantial withoud foreign help. so the war will continue without any conclusive victories or defeats

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

We should also secretly sell weapons in libya . Sell weapons to all proxies there and we can make big profit .

 

[Aramagedon]

We should also secretly sell weapons in libya to all groups. If we don't sell, others will.

Are you a peaceful guy or a terrorist civilian?

 

[shambhu]

Saudi Arabia funded Libya rebels push toward capital: Report

Libyan Marshal Khalifa Haftar, chief of the so-called Libyan National Army, leaves the main building of Russia's Foreign Ministry after a meeting with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Moscow on November 29, 2016. (AFP photo)

Libyan rebel commander General Khalifa Haftar has been directly supported by Saudi Arabia in his new campaign to seize control of the capital Tripoli, a new report has shown.

The Wall Street Journal said Haftar, who leads the so-called Libyan National Army, had been ensured of massive funds from Saudi Arabia during a trip to the kingdom before he started his push to seize control of Tripoli on April 4.

The report cited sources close to the Saudi government as saying that senior officials in Riyadh, including Saudi's intelligence chief and interior minister, had offered tens of millions to Haftar to pay for his bloody operation.

They said Haftar accepted the offer which could guarantee the support of tribal leaders and enable him to recruit and pay fighters.

“We were quite generous,” said an advisor to the Saudi government, according to the WSJ.

The newspaper also confirmed that Haftar had met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to the kingdom.


PressTV-Libya: LNA takes control of two regions in Tripoli
Footage released by the Libyan National Army (LNA) on Wednesday allegedly shows LNA forces after reportedly taking control over a base in Ain Zara and the Al Aziziyah in Tripoli.

The revelations comes against the backdrop of previous reports showing that Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, have been assisting Haftar and a rebel administration based in east of the country in their efforts to oppose an internationally-backed government in Tripoli.

“Haftar would not be a player today without the foreign support he has received ... The last few months, pretty much everyone jumped on the Haftar train,” said Wolfram Lacher, a Libya expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in comment provided to the WSJ.

Libya has been beset by violence since the overthrow of long-time dictator Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011 which came through an intervention by the NATO military alliance.

A patchwork of militant groups based in east of the country have resisted United Nations efforts to establish a government of national unity.

The United States and major powers in Europe have expressed their support for the Tripoli-based government while they have also received and met Haftar on several occasions.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-...-warlord-in-push-to-seize-tripoli-11555077600

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/04/13/593362/Libya-Haftar-Tripoli-operation-Saudi-support


Another Islamic country in civil war by Sudi petro dollars.

Not good for middle east.

 

[hasnainfirst]

We should also secretly sell weapons in libya to all groups. If we don't sell, others will.

Yes we should , wars are a great opportunity to make some money but you should also see that there are Muslims on both sides getting killed , if there were some others factions then it would have been excellent to do some dirty work

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

Are you a peaceful guy ?

U.S.A, Russia, other countries, muslim countries everybody doing this even if we don't sell weapons .

 

[Wa Muhammada]

Saudi Arabia Bankrolling Libyan General Haftar's Bid To Seize All Of Libya
View attachment 553249

Haftar would not be a player today without the foreign support he has received,” a Libyan affairs expert told The Wall Street Journal in a new lengthy profile of the Benghazi-based General Khalifa Haftar, whose Libyan National Army (LNA) is advancing this week on Tripoli.

As Haftar consolidated power over much of the country's war ravaged east, also making huge gains in the past year over the south, he's all along enjoyed the political backing of an unlikely assortment of powerful countries that include the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, France, and Russia. But the new WSJ report reveals his latest major external backer with endlessly deep pockets:

Days before Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to seize the capital and attempt to unite the divided country under his rule, Saudi Arabia promised tens of millions of dollars to help pay for the operation, according to senior advisers to the Saudi government.

Citing senior Saudi officials, the report reveals further the offer came during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia, as part of a broader trip which took Haftar to European capitals where the perception was that the renegade general now militarily challenging the UN-backed Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) was crucial to negotiating a lasting power sharing settlement between the eastern and western halves of the country.

The diplomatic meetings bolstered his status and resolve to take the whole country, even as lately the US and EU have vehemently called on him to halt the LNA's military advance, which lately included airstrikes on suburbs of Tripoli.

But apparently, the Saudis and possibly other backers are actually funding the assault on Tripoli, and further securing weaponry. The WSJ continues:

Mr. Haftar accepted the recent Saudi offer of funds, according to the senior Saudi advisers, who said the money was intended for buying the loyalty of tribal leaders, recruiting and paying fighters, and other military purposes.

“We were quite generous,” one of the advisers said.

The report also notes that with his so far rapid advance west, more previously reluctant European officials are jumping on the Haftar train. As we noted previously, "Libya's incoming strongman will send the oil out to Europe, and keep its migrants in."

But the Saudis only very recently emerged as apparently Haftar's prime backer, putting into motion the bloody battle for Tripoli that has now been on for a week. The WSJ reports that Haftar's March trip to Riyadh included a key meeting with crown prince MbS:

The following day, on March 27, he was welcomed in Riyadh by Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Undisclosed by the Saudi government at the time, he also met Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, along with Saudi Arabia’s interior minister and intelligence chief, according to two Saudi officials.

And now the question remains, if the Saudis are now so aggressively backing him, will Washington be next to officially jump on the bandwagon?

It should be noted that the likelihood is that he's already long been the CIA's man in Libya. What's not often stated outright is that Haftar is an American citizen, as recounted in a CNN profile this week: "Haftar is, to be polite, the ultimate pragmatist. He supported Moammar Gadhafi in his 1969 coup, then found himself in Langley, Virginia in the 90s where he gained US citizenship, before returning to overthrow Gadhafi in the 2011 conflict."



While in exile in the US he lived a mere minutes from CIA headquarters: "As a military commander, Mr. Haftar broke with Ghaddafi in the 1980s and became part of a C.I.A.-backed effort to destabilize the Libyan regime. He then spent two decades in exile in the U.S., before returning to join the rebellion in 2011," according to the WSJ report.

Interestingly, though the White House has urged Haftar to avoid military conflict while pulling a contingency of Marines from the country, Bolton's comments to the WSJ reveal that "condemnations" of Haftar's offensive might be coupled with a wink and a nod:

The U.S., meanwhile, has backed Mr. Haftar’s rivals in Tripoli. But before the attack on the capital, Trump administration officials expressed a willingness for Mr. Haftar to play a role in Libya’s future under a possible political settlement.

President Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, spoke with him by phone the day before the attack on Tripoli and urged him to stand down, according to a senior Trump administration official.

“I suspect he was on the move already” when Mr. Bolton spoke to him, the official said.

The past two days have witnessed the heaviest fighting in and around Tripoli thus far, driving over 6,000 people from their homes this month, and resulting in at least 58 deaths and about 300 wounded, according to the UN.

And it's about to get worse, as late Friday the LNA's military spokesman pledged, "Our Air force operations will increase" in the coming hours. The LNA has also issued an arrest warrant for Tripoli GNA government's beleaguered Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-12/saudi-arabia-bankrolling-haftars-bid-seize-all-libya

Deja Vu here....Zardari also lived near Langley and was said to have received CIA training

 

[Tom M]

We should also secretly sell weapons in libya . Sell weapons to all proxies there and we can make big profit .

And give another much needed stick to UNO, UNSC and FATF to beat you yet again, huh ??

Well all the very best in that case.

 

[War Thunder]

at the moment Lybia is divided in 3 . if haftar can unite Lybia by capturing tripoli why not. but after watching a week and a half ofping pong battles its clear that both these monkey groups cant fight and do anything substantial withoud foreign help. so the war will continue without any conclusive victories or defeats

Foreign powers have zero interest in uniting that country under one government. The more the divide, the more the chaos, the better for uncle Israel.

Yes we should , wars are a great opportunity to make some money but you should also see that there are Muslims on both sides getting killed , if there were some others factions then it would have been excellent to do some dirty work

The life of a Muslim is more valuable than another human?
I don't know which form of ignorance that is, and its sad people who claim to be Muslims are busy propagating idea of stupidity and ignorance and being a cause of hatred against Islam.

We should also secretly sell weapons in libya . Sell weapons to all proxies there and we can make big profit .

Yeah let's start by sending you there to negotiate some weapon deals.

 

[hasnainfirst]

The life of a Muslim is more valuable than another human?
I don't know which form of ignorance that is, and its sad people who claim to be Muslims are busy propagating idea of stupidity and ignorance and being a cause of hatred against Islam.

I think you are so much into peace , are'nt ya ... well , this is world and in order to survive in it you have to keep pace , i we sit idle and hope for a change nothing will happen and if you are that genious then what do you propose ? Don't be so kind , there is no room for kindness nowadays ...

 

[War Thunder]

I think you are so much into peace , are'nt ya ... well , this is world and in order to survive in it you have to keep pace , i we sit idle and hope for a change nothing will happen and if you are that genious then what do you propose ? Don't be so kind , there is no room for kindness nowadays ...

There is no room for kindness amongst ignorant and jahil awam who have no brain power to overcome their animalistic nature. Who are controlled by their lust and habbits and are unable to overcome them.
For men, with strength of mind of a man, there is always kindness, there is always respect, and there is always honor.

And I for one prefer men to be in control of things instead of little twinkies acting to be men and throwing their animal self around and representing my people.

And I'm into my faith, and my faith wants me to be kind to every one, and to value every ones life.

My suggestion. Before comparing Muslims and non Muslims. Try to be a "Muslim" yourself first?

 

[hasnainfirst]

There is no room for kindness amongst ignorant and jahil awam who have no brain power to overcome their animalistic nature. Who are controlled by their lust and habbits and are unable to overcome them.
For men, with strength of mind of a man, there is always kindness, there is always respect, and there is always honor.

And I for one prefer men to be in control of things instead of little twinkies acting to be men and throwing their animal self around and representing my people.

And I'm into my faith, and my faith wants me to be kind to every one, and to value every ones life.

My suggestion. Before comparing Muslims and non Muslims. Try to be a "Muslim" yourself first?

Well , Maulana if you keep on being kind to the animals that hunt Muslims , i hope you'll get Nobel prize one day ...