Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, accused France on Wednesday of supporting his rival Khalifa Haftar whom he described as a “dictator”.
The comments from Sarraj to the Liberation and Le Monde newspapers in France are his harshest criticism yet of Paris which has long been suspected of offering backing to Haftar, a former army field marshal based in eastern Libya.
Haftar, head of a self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), has gradually expanded his territorial control and launched an offensive on April 4 on the capital Tripoli where Sarraj’s UN-recognised government is based.
“We are surprised that France does not support our government that is democratic, but supports a dictator,” Sarraj told the newspapers in comments published in French on Wednesday.
“When (French president) Emmanuel Macron called me, I warned him that public opinion was against France. We don’t want Libyans to hate France. France still has a positive and important role to play,” he said.
Speaking to Le Monde on Monday, Sarraj said France was partly to blame for Haftar’s offensive on Tripoli, which has led to 264 deaths and over 1,200 wounded.
“The disproportional support from France towards Haftar is what made him decide to take action and abandon the political process,” he said.
Source: Guardian Newspaper
