Haftar commands the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, also known as the Libyan National Army. Although multiple armed groups serve under its banner, many operate under their own command structures and engage in their own raids and patrols across eastern Libya. “In today’s Libya, armed groups are the only entities capable of projecting power and maintaining territorial control,” Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute, told Arab News. Armed groups in Libya are often accused by the UN and human rights groups of committing war crimes with impunity. “Once corruption is addressed, further steps can be considered.”There are, however, multiple factors behind the Libyan military’s inability to rein in the country’s many armed groups.

Source: Libya Today May 15, 2024 00:18 UTC