Libya’s Haftar Says Suspends Military Role ahead of Polls

LNA commander Haftar in Athens in January 2020. (AFP)
LNA commander Haftar in Athens in January 2020. (AFP)
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Libya’s Haftar Says Suspends Military Role ahead of Polls

LNA commander Haftar in Athens in January 2020. (AFP)
LNA commander Haftar in Athens in January 2020. (AFP)

Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar said Wednesday he was suspending his military activities, a step which could lead to his candidacy in elections later this year.

In a statement, Haftar said he had named an interim replacement as head of the LNA until December 24, the date of the legislative and presidential vote.

Libyan media said the step opens the way for Haftar to run as a presidential candidate under a controversial new law.

Parliamentary speaker Aguila Saleh earlier this month ratified legislation governing the presidential ballot and which critics say bypassed due process to favor his ally Haftar.

They cite a clause stipulating that military officials may stand in presidential polls, on condition that they withdraw from their roles three months beforehand -- and that, if unsuccessful, they will receive backpay.

That would allow for a presidential run by Haftar, whose forces control eastern Libya, where the parliament is based, as well as parts of the south.

Haftar had waged a year-long assault on Tripoli before reaching a formal ceasefire with his western opponents in October last year.

Libya has seen months of relative peace since the agreement, with a new unity government taking power early this year charged with leading the country until the December elections.

The lull in violence and a United Nations-led transition process have sparked hopes that Libya could move on after a decade of violence that followed the fall and killing of longtime leader Moammar al-Gaddafi in a 2011 revolt.

But on Tuesday Libya’s parliament passed a no-confidence vote in the unity government, raising questions about plans for the December ballot.

A majority of lawmakers who attended the lower house session -- overseen by Saleh -- in the eastern city of Tobruk voted to withdraw confidence from the Tripoli-based unity administration of interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, spokesman Abdallah Bliheq said.

An upper house based in the capital rejected the vote, saying it violated established procedures, and laying bare once more the extent of divisions between the country’s east and west.

Germany, which has played a leading role in diplomacy to end Libya’s conflict, called Wednesday for the elections to go ahead.

"The international community expects Libyan officials in Tripoli and the rest of the country to work for presidential and legislative elections to take place as scheduled on December 24," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said as he co-chaired a high-level meeting on Libya at the UN.

Maas also called for renewed efforts to remove foreign mercenaries from Libya.

The United Nations estimates there are more than 20,000 mercenaries, including Russians, Syrians, Chadians and Sudanese, as well as foreign troops, most of them Turkish, deployed in Libya.



Suspected US Airstrikes Kill at Least 6 People in Yemen

Light breaks through the sky as US airstrikes strike a plastic materials factory on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen, 13 April 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Light breaks through the sky as US airstrikes strike a plastic materials factory on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen, 13 April 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Suspected US Airstrikes Kill at Least 6 People in Yemen

Light breaks through the sky as US airstrikes strike a plastic materials factory on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen, 13 April 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Light breaks through the sky as US airstrikes strike a plastic materials factory on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen, 13 April 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

Suspected US airstrikes around Yemen's Houthi-held capital killed at least six people and wounded 26 overnight, the Houthis said Monday as they also claimed shooting down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone.

Since its start nearly a month ago, the intense campaign of US airstrikes under President Donald Trump targeting the Houthis over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters — related to the Israel-Hamas war — has killed over 120 people, according to casualty figures released Monday by the Houthis' Health Ministry.

Footage aired by the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel showed firefighters spraying water on a raging fire they described as being sparked by the airstrikes. Rubble littered a street as rescuers carried one person away from the site, which the group claimed was a ceramics factory in the Bani Matar neighborhood of Sanaa, the capital.

The US military’s Central Command, which oversees American military operations, did not acknowledge the strikes. That follows a pattern for the command, which now has authorization from the White House to conduct strikes at will in the campaign that began March 15.

The American military also hasn’t been providing any information on targets hit. The White House has said over 200 strikes have been conducted so far.

Houthis claim another American drone shot down

The Houthis separately claimed Sunday night they shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen's Hajjah governorate, which sits to the northwest of the country on the Red Sea on the country's border with Saudi Arabia.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, described the downing in a prerecorded video message as the fourth in two weeks by the group. Saree said the Houthis targeted the drone with “a locally manufactured missile.” They have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft.

Iran denies arming the group, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi group despite a United Nations arms embargo.

General Atomics Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes over 40,000 feet (12,100 meters) and remain in the air for over 30 hours. They have been flown by both the US military and the CIA for years over Afghanistan, Iraq and now Yemen.

Central Command said it was aware of “reports” of the drone being shot down, but did not elaborate.

US strikes come as part of monthlong intense campaign

An AP review has found the new US operation against the Houthis under President Donald Trump appears more extensive than that under former President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.

The new campaign of airstrikes started after the Houthis threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The group has loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.

The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.

The US campaign shows no signs of stopping, as the Trump administration has also linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.