Media: Haftar hospitalized in Egypt. True or propaganda?
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Alaina
- . May 28, 2021
- . Update: May 29, 2021 7:44 pm
The English “Al-Araby” reported today quoting military sources that the General Commander of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, Khalifa Haftar, is being cared for a serious illness in an Egyptian military hospitalon Thursday. The newspaper said he was taken to the International Medical Centre in Greater Cairo by a medical transport plane after experiencing symptoms arising from a previous blood clot.Egypt, an ally of the LAAF, was accused in April of sending two planes loaded with ammunition to Haftar’s forces under the facade of sending medical aids.
While he had been seriously ill, Khalifa Haftar, 78, is said to have improved and is now in a stable state, Al-Arabysaid, adding that the General Commander of the LAAF may be able to return to Libya in the coming days to complete his care. The news appears to be unfounded. As early as 2018, Muslim Brotherhood-funded media claimed Haftar had been hospitalized in a Paris hospital on the verge of death. Some newspapers also claimed that the Benghazi strongman who defeated terrorism in eastern and southern Libya was dead. Even then the news was just a media campaign sponsored by Italy, Turkey and Qatar.
Today Muslim Brotherhood’s media suggest concerns around his continued political viability. The British publication, quoting the same sources, affirms that his many ongoing ailments may pose a significant barrier as December’s elections inch closer.However, General Haftar has never expressed a desire to run for elections, stressing that his role is only military. While the Islamist media accused Haftar of wanting to be a new dictator, the Field Marshall was the only officer not running for leadership of the country last November, unlike the commanders of the western region such as Osama al-Juwaily who presented his candidacy for the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).
The same newspaper speculates that Haftar promoted his son Saddam politically, in reality, Saddam Haftar played a crucial role in the dialogue with Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the former vice president of Tripoli Ahmed Maiteeq. The exponent of the previous Government of National Accord (GNA) reached an agreement with the strong man of Cyrenaica that allowed to reach a lasting ceasefire, the reopening of air flights between east and west Libya, laying the foundations for an equitable distribution of resources among the three historical regions of Libya.
