The UN-backed Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) between the parties of the Libyan crisis, which was signed in Skhirat in Morocco in 2015, has expired, Libya’s national army commander, Khalifa Haftar, announced today.
Haftar said that starting 17 December, he does not recognise any decisions issued by the political bodies linked to the LPA.
“All bodies resulting from this agreement automatically lose their legitimacy, which has been contested from the first day they took office,” he said, adding that “the military institution will not submit to any party unless it has gained its legitimacy from the Libyan people.”
“We are fully obedient to the commands of the free Libyan people as they are the source of authority and the (real) decision makers,” the commander stressed.
Addressing the Libyans, Haftar said: “The country is at a historical crossroads,” the military commander noted, adding: “We feel that your patience has run out and that the stability you have long waited for is now out of reach. Your hopes and dreams seem to be shattering now that you are disappointed and frustrated by all national institutions.”
“Libya is entering a dangerous phase,” he pointed out, stressing that it would negatively impact local affairs and extend to regional areas and slammed the National Accord Government saying its like “non-existent.”
Responding to Haftar’s declaration, the UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, called on all te Libyan parties to “refrain from any actions that could undermine the political process.”
Salame stressed on the UN’s keenness to provide the necessary technical support to the Supreme National Electoral Commission, which will monitor the elections which is scheduled for the end of 2018.
In mid-2014, after the LPA had been enforced, a fierce war broke out in Tripoli between the anti-Haftar forces of Fajr Libya, the Zintan forces loyal to the House of Representatives, and another war between Hafar’s forces and the Benghazi Shura Council in Benghazi.
