Khalifa Haftar
Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Omar Haftar[3] (Arabic: خليفة بالقاسم عمر حفتر, romanized: Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA).[4] On 2 March 2015, he was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the elected legislative body, the Libyan House of Representatives.[5]
Khalifa Haftar
Aguila Saleh Issa (acting)
Mohamed al-Menfi
Libya
United States
6, including Saddam
Red diploma (high honours) – M.V. Frunze Military Academy
State of Libya (House of Representatives) (since 2011)
National Front for the Salvation of Libya (1987–2011)
Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977–1987)
Libyan Arab Republic (1969–1977)- Kingdom of Libya (1966–1969)
1966–1987; 2011–present
Haftar was born in the Libyan city of Ajdabiya. He served in the Libyan army under Muammar Gaddafi, and took part in the coup that brought Gaddafi to power in 1969. He took part in the Libyan contingent against Israel in the Yom Kippur War of 1973.[6] In 1987, he became a prisoner of war during the war against Chad after being lured into a trap and captured, which was then a major embarrassment for Gaddafi and represented a major blow to Gaddafi's ambitions in Chad. While being held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Gaddafi. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades living in the U.S. in Langley, Virginia, and gained U.S. citizenship.[7][8] In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and sentenced to death.
Haftar held a senior position in the forces which overthrew Gaddafi in 2011, during the First Libyan Civil War. In 2014, he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC but then developed into the Second Libyan Civil War. In 2017, Ramzi al-Shaeri, Vice-President of the Derna city council and lawyers Ryan Goodman and Alex Whiting accused Haftar of the war crime of ordering the killing of prisoners of war during the recapture of Derna.[9][10] Haftar has been described as "Libya's most potent warlord", having fought "with and against nearly every significant faction" in Libya's conflicts, as having a "reputation for unrivalled military experience"[11][12] and as governing "with an iron fist".[13]
Although Haftar is reportedly an anti-Islamist,[14][15][16][17] his allies include the Salafi Madkhali militias for geopolitical purposes.[18]
In November 2021, Khalifa Haftar announced his candidacy for the presidential election in December 2021 before it was postponed.[19]
Besides his native Arabic, Haftar also speaks English, Italian and Russian, and is conversational in French.[20] He is a dual Libyan-US citizen.[21][9] He is expected to renounce his US citizenship prior to the next Libyan election.[22]
Early life and education[edit]
Haftar was born in Ajdabiya,[23][24] and is a member of the Firjan tribe.[25] He studied at al-Huda School in Ajdabiya in 1957 and then moved to Derna to obtain his secondary education between 1961 and 1964.[26] He joined the Benghazi Military University Academy (also known as Benghazi Royal Military College) on 16 September 1964 and graduated from there in 1966.[27] In the late 1970s, he went on to receive military training in the Soviet Union, completing a special three-year degree for foreign officers sent to study in the USSR, at the M. V. Frunze Military Academy. Haftar later pursued further military training in Egypt.[6][28] He was also stationed with the artillery corps.[29]
War with Chad[edit]
By 1986, Haftar had attained the rank of colonel, and was then the chief officer in command of Gaddafi's military forces in Chad in the Chadian–Libyan conflict. During the war, in which the Libyan forces were either captured or driven back across the border, Haftar and 600–700 of his men were captured as prisoners of war, and incarcerated in 1987 after their defeat in the Ouadi Doum airstrike.[34] Shortly after this disastrous battle, Gaddafi disavowed Haftar and the other Libyan prisoners of war who were captured by Chad. One possible contributing factor to Gaddafi's repudiation of Haftar and of other captured prisoners of war may have been the fact that Gaddafi had earlier signed an agreement to withdraw all Libyan forces from Chad, and Haftar's operations inside of Chad had been in violation of this agreement.[35][36] Another possible reason given for Gaddafi's abandonment of Haftar was the potential that Haftar might return to Libya as a hero and thus pose a threat to Gaddafi's rule itself.[28]
In 1986 and 1987 the Government of Chad accused Libya of using toxic gas and napalm against central government forces and against rebel forces. Libya may have used mustard gas delivered in bombs by An-26 aircraft in final phases of the war against Chad in September 1987.[37]
Opposition from the United States[edit]
Gaddafi demanded Haftar's soldiers be returned to Libya, but the Americans arranged for them to fly to Zaire instead. There, half of his soldiers decided to return to Libya. In late 1987, Haftar and a group of officers aligned themselves with the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL), a U.S. supported opposition group.[11][29] On 21 June 1988, he declared the establishment of the military wing of the NFSL, called the Libyan National Army under his leadership.[29] When U.S. financial aid to Zaire was not forthcoming, Zaire expelled the remainder to Kenya.[36] Kenya only provided temporary residence, and the CIA negotiated a settlement around 1990, enabling Haftar and 300 of his soldiers to move to the United States under the U.S. refugee programme.[30][36] In fact, the end of the Cold War diminished Libya's geo-strategic relevance and the CIA funding program to Haftar's brigade was suspended.[38]
In March 1996, Haftar took part in a failed uprising against Gaddafi in the mountains of eastern Libya, before returning to the U.S.[36]
Haftar moved to suburban area outside Washington, D.C., living in Falls Church, Virginia until 2007. He then moved to Vienna, Virginia.[36][39] From there, and mostly through his close contacts within the DIA / CIA, he consistently supported several attempts to topple and assassinate Gaddafi.[40] He spelled his name "Hifter" in legal documents in the United States.[39]
Family involvement in government and potential succession[edit]
Haftar has at least six sons and a daughter. Captain Saddam Haftar and Captain Khalid Haftar are officers in the Libyan National Army heading two Madkhali brigades, including the 106th Brigade accused of abducting Seham Sergiwa in 2019.[110] Another son, Al-Sadiq Haftar, is also in Libya. Belqasim Haftar serves as his father's top political advisor.[111][112][113] Two other sons, Uqba Haftar, who works in real estate, and Al-Muntasir Haftar as well as his daughter Asma Haftar live in Virginia in the United States.[114]
In October 2021, the Israel Hayom reported that Belqasim Haftar signed a contract worth "tens of millions of dollars in fees" with an Israeli consulting firm to run his father's presidential campaign.[115][116]
In November 2021, Saddam Haftar secretly visited Israel on behalf of his father, allegedly seeking military aid and diplomatic assistance in return of normalizing relations.[117][118] Khalifa Haftar allegedly had contacts with Mossad prior to Saddam's visit.[119] Later that same month, Saddam Haftar allegedly guaranteed the safety of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Bashir Saleh Bashir to register themselves as president candidates in Sabha.[120] Yet ten days later, the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade, led by Saddam and Khalid, stormed the courthouse in Sabha to prevent judges from hearing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's appeal to participate in the presidential election.[121]
Starting in March 2022, Okba Haftar began the process of liquidating Haftar family's real estate holdings in the United States after a US judge ruled that Khalifa could be sued civilly for war crimes. Okba allegedly received an offer from the United Arab Emirates to relocate there.[111]
In December 2022, Saddam Haftar attempted to seize control of banking institutions in Cyrenaica.[122][123] Later that same month, Saddam Haftar's Salafist Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade, one of the largest wing of Khalifa's Libyan National Army, was accused by Amnesty International of committing war crimes.[124][125][126]
In January 2023, Khalifa Haftar pledged to withdraw from the Libyan presidential election on the condition that his sons, Saddam and Belqasim, are allowed to run.[127] Saddam Haftar is seen as the heir apparent of Khalifa Haftar.[128]
Accusations of Migrant Trafficking[edit]
In December 2023, Khalifa Haftar was accused of leading operations that intercepted and forcibly returned refugees trying to reach Europe. His militia, particularly the Tareq Bin Zeyad Brigade, reportedly engaged in brutal treatment of these refugees, including physical abuse and torture. They were also implicated in human trafficking, with allegations suggesting they profited from smuggling operations. These activities raised significant human rights concerns and highlighted potential violations of international law, while also drawing attention to the possible indirect involvement of European entities like Frontex and Maltese officials in facilitating or turning a blind eye to these practices.[129]
Health[edit]
On 12 April 2018, it was reported that Haftar was in a coma after suffering a stroke and was hospitalized under intensive care in Paris.[130][131] A spokesman for the LNA initially denied the reports.[132] Local media later reported he was dead. However, sources close to him insisted he was alive.[133] On 25 April, it was confirmed that Haftar was alive and had returned to Benghazi following treatment in Paris.[134]