Libya: Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar orders his troops to move on Tripoli
Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops on Thursday to march on the capital Tripoli, taking his conflict with the internationally recognized government to a dangerous new level.
Haftar posted his order in a video online hours after his forces took full control of Gharyan, a town about 100 km south of the capital.
His forces have arrived in the area of al-Heira, a spokesman for the force said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is in Tripoli trying to push an international peace deal, and was due to make a statement. He earlier called for restraint from all sides.
“To our army which is stationed at the outskirts of Tripoli. Today we complete our march … We are going to start shortly,” Haftar said in the video titled ‘Operation to liberate Tripoli’.