Russia is reportedly courting the affections of a Libyan warlord, who is fighting to overthrow the U.S. and UN backed government in the western part of the country.
Khalifa Haftar, a former general in Gadhafi’s army, now reportedly controls more territory than any other faction in the war torn country. The power struggle for control began after the U.S. and NATO ejected Gadhafi from power in 2011, after he tried to massacre thousands of rebels and civilians in Benghazi.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased aid to Haftar’s faction in Libya, and invited him to two high level meetings in the Kremlin, according to government officials who spoke to Bloomberg. Russia reportedly lost nearly 4 billion dollars in military contracts after Gadhafi’s ouster, and hope to cultivate a strong relationship with the faction they would like to see take power.
U.S. State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters in November he hoped Haftar would submit to the Western governments “civilian control” and drop arms. Haftar’s forces instead seem poised for victory. “The longer we wait, the more likely it becomes that Haftar wins,” a Eurasia group analyst told Bloomberg news.
If Haftar is able to gain control over all of Libya, it will be a significant blow to the Obama administration. Obama openly admits he believes his 2011 intervention in Libya was a mistake, and has pleaded for Libyans to drop arms and enter the political process. Nearly five years later the country remains engulfed in war. “The social order in Libya has broken down,” Obama said to The Atlantic in 2015.
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