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The UN chief has called for the immediate cessation of fighting in Libya after Khalifa Haftar's forces claimed responsibility for an air raid on Tripoli's only active airport.
Khalifa Haftar, the self-proclaimed leader of the Libyan National Army of the East (LNA), continues his attempts to take control of Tripoli.
Last week, Haftar and his forces launched a surprise badault that forced thousands of people to flee and kill dozens of people.
The Haftar LNA effectively controls the east of the country while the National General Congress (GNC), the internationally recognized government, has controlled the West.
Since the Libyan revolution of 2011, which saw the longtime leader, Muammar Gaddafi, overthrown and then killed by one of the militias, an internal struggle for power has become a civil war between forces of the United States. east and west.
Haftar arrived on the scene shortly after 2011 and has since been a fixed figure.
The man behind Haftar
Khalifa Belqasim Haftar was born in 1943 and grew up in Libya.
He comes from the tribe of Firjan, whose populations are numerous, mainly in the east, especially around Sirte, the hometown of Gaddafi.
He was one of the young army officers who supported Gaddafi in 1969 when Libya overthrew his monarchy. Haftar played a role for the coming years under Moamer, according to Mary Fitzgerald, researcher in Libya.
Haftar remained a soldier and continued to fight with the Libyan contingent during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Shortly after, Gaddafi started his ambitious project involving Chad and the 1978 conflict.
Haftar played a major role in this regional conflict that lasted until 1987.
It turned out to be a disaster when he fell into a trap and was captured by Chadian forces.
Gaddafi viewed these prisoners of war as an embarrbadment and disavowed them.
In prison, Haftar and the others formed a group called the National Front for the Salvation of Libya with the aim of ending the Gaddafi regime.
Finally, in 1990, he was released and moved to the United States where he later obtained citizenship.
Live the american dream
For more than 20 years, Haftar has lived in the United States, specifically in Virginia and not far from the CIA headquarters, the CIA, said Ashur Shamis, former head of the Salvation Front. In fact, he wonders what Haftar did to make a living during those years.
In 2003, Shamis notes that the CIA had already moved away from Haftar.
When the 2011 Arab Spring began to take root in North Africa and the Middle East, Haftar had the opportunity to return to Libya to carry out its initial plan.
"He asked me if I could help and of course I answered yes," says Mohammed Buiser, a former Haftar advisor from 2014 to 2016.
Buiser lived in Dallas, Texas, at the time, and also fled Libya because of Gaddafi's power issues.
"We then organized a meeting at the State Department in Washington … I had the impression that they did not trust him." And they always thought that he was motivated by his personal interest, "says Buiser.
First weeks of 2011
Haftar arrived in Benghazi in the first weeks of the uprising against Gaddafi in 2011, Fitzgerald said.
"I was actually in Benghazi when he arrived and this sowed consternation within the National Transition Council – the body set up to represent the opposition forces in the country. At the time – because many of them knew Hafter, his reputation had preceded him. And this caused consternation as he immediately began to demand a key role in the rebel forces that were beginning to take shape, "she added.
On February 14, 2014, Haftar publicly called for the creation of a presidential committee until the holding of new elections, which he described as a road map for Libya.
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan immediately accused Haftar of organizing a mini-coup against the GNC.
But this appeal attracted a lot of support from Haftar "because for the first time [was] take a military role and [did] not want to take the throne, "says Buiser.
Military leader against political leader
"Gaddafi was [an] armored politician. Haftar is just a military leader, "says Buiser.
"He's talking about machine guns, rifles, tanks, planes, like a kid who enjoys watching football," he adds.
People who have spent time with Haftar say that he is moody and hypersensitive.
And stubborn, adds Buiser, the former counselor who has inevitably disputed with Haftar.
"There is no depth, I would lose it if I spoke to him or brought him an intellectual idea … He is obsessed with the experience of Gaddafi. The only political speech he knows is that of Gaddafi on the coup d'etat, who will then reign over the country and give it to your sons and do whatever you want. "
In fact, his two sons were recently appointed to the army and appointed to leadership by Haftar as commanders of his NLA units.
However, neither son has military training, Fitzgerald adds.
But is there a global plan for Haftar's actions, given that he has not yet formally announced his long-term plan, in addition to wanting to eliminate the country from terrorists?
Some badysts say that he wants to see Libya return to the spirit of the 1969 revolution, thus avoiding the mistakes made by Gaddafi, who diverted it from the original vision.
Others, like Buiser, see nothing more than a ploy allowing Haftar to rule all of Libya.
"Create a dictatorship for him and his two sons," he adds.
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