Army strongman registers gains in Libya's oil-rich east

BENGHAZI, Libya

Forces loyal to Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar have reportedly registered major gains in eastern Libya, seizing control of most of the cities across the oil-rich region.

After two years of fighting, Haftar’s self-styled "Libyan National Army" (LNA) now controls all of Libya’s eastern cities with the exception of Derna, on which his forces have imposed a crippling siege for more than one year.

Pro-Haftar forces have also tightened their grip on Benghazi, eastern Libya’s largest city, from which they have largely managed to expel rival armed groups.

Haftar’s LNA, which is loyal to Libya’s Tobruk-based parliament, has also reportedly seized control of a number of towns in southern and western Libya.

The LNA is fighting the self-described Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, an assortment of armed groups that supported Libya’s 2011 popular uprising -- which led to the ouster and death of longstanding strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

The recent victories of Haftar -- who is openly supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates -- have earned him praise from the UN, the U.S. and the EU for fighting what they describe as "terrorism".

Despite the fact that Haftar rejects Libya’s nascent UN-backed unity government, UN envoy to Libya Martin Kobler recently praised the LNA for the sacrifices it had made in its ongoing fight against "terrorism".

US envoy to Libya Jonathan Winer, for his part, has also spoken of the "tough sacrifices" made by forces loyal to Haftar.

"Tough sacrifices by LNA soldiers this week [were] reported: 20 killed and 40 injured in counter-terror fighting in Benghazi," Winer tweeted.

- Winning horse

Analysts, meanwhile, believe Western states see Haftar as the best means of preserving their long-term interests in the country.

"The West only respects force, which explains why it is showing support for Haftar’s LNA," Naem al-Gheryani -- a political analyst at Benghazi University -- told Anadolu Agency.

"The West doesn’t bet on losers," he said.

According to Libyan journalist Saleh Abdel-Latif, pro-Haftar forces hope to make major gains on the ground before political talks are eventually held with a view to resolving the conflict.

"Haftar wants a bargaining chip in any new round of talks -- and the best bargaining chip is Benghazi," he said.

"That’s why he wants to resolve the battle for Benghazi and ultimately seize control of the city," Abdel-Latif added.

Libya has been wracked by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with Gaddafi’s ouster and death after more than four decades in power.

Following Gaddafi’s departure, the country’s stark political divisions yielded two rival seats of government -- one in Libya’s eastern city of Tobruk and another in capital Tripoli -- each of which boasts its own legislative assembly and military capacity.

Last year, the two rival governments signed a UN-brokered agreement in Skhirat, Morocco, which subsequently led to the formation of a unity government.

The unity government, however, has so far failed to assume its ruling mandate, while armed conflict remains rife between Libya’s disparate political factions.

Two weeks ago, Colonel Ahmed al-Mesmary, a Haftar spokesman, said Libya’s warring rivals were now mulling an "alternative" to the UN-backed agreement.

Libyan political analyst Gaafar Bahloul, for his part, believes Haftar’s recent military victories were largely inspired by earlier gains by forces loyal to the unity government against the Daesh terrorist group in the northern city of Sirte.

"It would be embarrassing if Haftar failed to record similar victories against Daesh in Benghazi," he said.

"He who wins the battle against ‘terrorism’ in Libya," Bahloul asserted, "will be the one to rule the country."

*Reporting by Moataz al-Majbari; Writing by Mohamed Sabry Emam Muhammed