The situation on the ground in Libyan capital Tripoli has not changed despite Libyan National Army's (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar announcing the final offensive to wrest control of the city from the Government of National Accord (GNA), leading one GNA diplomatic source to tell Sputnik that the move could be an act of psychological warfare
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2019) The situation on the ground in Libyan capital Tripoli has not changed despite Libyan National Army's (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar announcing the final offensive to wrest control of the city from the Government of National Accord (GNA), leading one GNA diplomatic source to tell Sputnik that the move could be an act of psychological warfare.Haftar made an official statement on the start of the final operation late on Thursday. Soon after, a correspondent of Al Arabiya broadcaster reported that the LNA was advancing to Tripoli from several directions. The LNA's press service said that Haftar's forces had seized a military academy in the Salah al-Din district in the southern suburbs of Tripoli.
"I live near the clashes area and we have noticed no difference at the level of attacks, so we believe that the announcement by Haftar is rather a psychological war in order to increase confidence in his leadership among his supporters, especially after the incident of capturing one of his jet pilots in Al-Zawiya city," an official from the Foreign Ministry of GNA who preferred to stay unnamed said.
According to the Sputnik source, the battle lines around Tripoli remain unchanged since the beginning of the offensive in April.
Furthermore, the source believes that Haftar's announcements may be intended to undercut the upcoming Berlin conference on Libya, organized by UN special representative in Libya Ghassan Salame, which is likely to be held mid-January.
"I think Haftar is trying to spoil the meeting of Berlin because he does not believe in the diplomatic solution and sharing of power. He prefers to continue the military assault to fulfill his ambitions to control the country's capital. The timing is reminiscent of the beginning of the Tripoli battle on the 4th of April during the visit of the UN secretary-general to Libya and 10 days prior to the National Conference arranged by UNSMIL [UN Support Mission in Libya] to discuss all the issues at hand," the source said.
Libya is currently ruled by two competing governments. The country's east is controlled by the Interim Libyan Government of Eastern Libya, supported by the Libyan National Army, led by Haftar, and its west is governed by the UN-backed Government of National Accord. Since April, the sides have been engaged in an open military confrontation.
On December 7, the GNA operations command tweeted that a MiG-23 jet of the Libyan National Army had been shot down near the Yarmouk military camp, south of Tripoli. Next day, the Libyan National Army confirmed the crash but said the reason behind it had been a technical malfunction.
