Libyan Army accuses Doha of attempting to assassinate Haftar

Libyan National Army accused the Qatari government of attempting to assassinate Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar using a car bomb. It also accused the tiny state of involving in the assassination of Libya’s former Interior Minister Abdel Fattah Younis during the uprising against former leader Muammar Al Gaddafi.

Ahmad Al Mesmari has accused Qatar of being behind the killing of Major-General Abdul Fatah Younus and making a bid on the life of army chief Khalifa Haftar. Army spokesperson says Libyans will not allow Qatar to “play with their future”

Addressing a press conference in Benghazi on Wednesday evening, Ahmad Mesmari, spokesperson for the Libyan National Army, known as Haftar’s forces, said that Qatar destroyed the whole Arab country. He said Libya did not have any dealing with Qatar since 2012 because of its support to the terrorist groups”. “The destructive role of Qatar in Libya will come to an end soon,” Mesmari was quoted as saying by press reports.

Libya plans to file a case against Qatar at the International Criminal Court over its role in a [series] of assassinations in Libya,” Mesmari said, accusing Qatar of being behind the killing of Major-General Abdul Fatah Younus and a bid on the life of Army Chief Khalifa Haftar. Younus, who had been head of the Free Libya’s Army, was killed in July 2011.

Libya was among the Arab countries that cut their diplomatic relations with Qatar earlier this week over its policies of supporting terrorism.

One of the Libya’s three rival governments decided to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar after Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen did so. The decision to cut diplomatic relations with Qatar was made because of its “black record” in Libya since the ousting of the former regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Mohammad Al Deri, the Libyan foreign minister of the interim Libyan government, accused Qatar of “harbouring terrorism” according to Libyan official news agency LANA.

The Interim government of Libya is affiliated with the internationally recognized House of Representatives and is based in eastern Libya. Another internationally recognized Government of National Accord is based in Tripoli and brokered by the United Nations while the third rival government is based in Tripoli.

The power players of the interim government based in eastern Libya have always accused Qatar and Turkey of backing Islamists in Libya, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Libya sank into lawlessness after the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Addressing the press conference, Mesmari alleged the Palestinian group of Hamas is also involved in the ongoing conflict in Libya, through “training extremists in Libya with Qatari funds”. Doha, according to the Libyan military spokesperson, sent “billions of dollars” to Libya through Tunis.

On the political side, Germany’s foreign minister arrived in Tripoli today for largely migration-focused talks with the UN-backed government. Following a discussion described as “fruitful” with Presidency Council (PC) leader Faiez Serraj, Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Chancellor Angel Merkel’s deputy, insisted Germany still supported the Libya Dialogue and the UN-backed government’s efforts to bring about acceptable comprises to the Libyan Political Agreement.

Last year Germany welcomed some one million migrants. On his arrival in Tripoli, Gabriel said his country’s objective was to “brace ourselves against the tide of instability [in Libya] that has emerged in the absence of sounds structures”. “In order to achieve our aims, Libya’s deeply divided forces must demonstrate a willingness to compromise and, at long last, commence serious talks on how to implement the Political Agreement,” he said,

Only then could the fighting end; “We are looking to the Government of National Accord under Prime Minister Serraj in this regard,” he said.