Six point plan for peace in Libya by UN envoy Martin Kobler

Martin Kobler, head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) yesterday tweeted the outline of a six-point "road map for peaceful Libya".

As he has said many times he regards the Libyan Political Agreement(LPA) signed in Skhirat, Morocco in December of 2015 as the core of any forthcoming peace talks. Yet the LPA has been one of the main roadblocks keeping the eastern-based House of Representatives (HoR) from voting confidence in the rival Government of National Accord (GNA) and its Presidency Council (PC). The last vote was on August 22, 2016 and failed to pass. There has been little progress since. Though there has been a meeting recently between head of the PC Faiez Serraj and head of the armed forces of the rival HoR government, Khalifa Haftar, and it was claimed to have been positive and resulted in an agreement. However, no formal statement was issued after the meeting, and the two sides ultimately issued separate statements that differed considerably. A number of contradictory accounts of details of what was agreed to have been circulating as indicated in a recent Digital Journal article.

As usual, what Haftar says is less important than what he leaves out. In order for the LPA to be used as a basis of a political solution it will need to be amended so that Section 8 making the PC rather than Haftar the commander of the Libyan Armed Forces is deleted. As opponents of the GNA have often pointed out the present GNA lacks any legitimacy:Article (12)

All institutions stipulated in the Libyan Political Agreement shall derive their legitimacy from the Constitutional Declaration and its amendment as annexed to this Agreement after its endorsement and adoption in its entirety, signing and entry into force. Should it be necessary to introduce subsequent amendment to the Constitutional Declaration that affects, whether directly or indirectly, the Agreement or any of the institutions that emanate from it, the House of Representatives and State

Council shall commit to achieve consensus among themselves to agree on the format of such amendment. The final endorsement of this amendment shall be given by the House of Representatives, without amendment, based on the mechanism stipulated in the Constitutional Declaration.

This would seem to allow a path to change the LPA, but Kobler appears to be seeking to amend the LPA by calling together Dialogue members chosen by the two sides, who he thinks, can simply amend the agreement. It is not clear exactly what sections of the LPA allow this if there are any. Kobler never gives details about such matters and reporters and analysts don't seem to bother about them at all, or at least discussion of the issue never makes it to the mainstream press. There is still no word about when and where the Dialogue members will meet. The HoR has chosen its members finally, after other members of the dialogue meeting in Tunis claimed to have already amended it something that has fallen off the press radar.

Kobler's second point is that the security apparatus should be united and they should be disallowed from using violence. Presumably he means unauthorized violence. I assume that he means disbanding the militias and forming a unified army and security apparatus instead of depending on militias as happens now..There are numerous militias with their own agendas often engaging in turf wars and some of them more like criminal gangs than groups providing security for the state. The LPA clearly saw this as necessary and has several portions dealing with the problem but virtually nothing has been done with results that are nothing short of disastrous. Clashes are endemic especially in the capital Tripoli. Kobler has no suggestions as how this unity of security can be accomplished.

The third point is that the financial and economic institutions should be supported so that they become stable and more in contact with the PC of the GNA. However, the Libyan Central Bank and the National Oil Companies must play a delicate balancing act as the eastern HoR government controls many areas where the oil wells's security is provided by forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar. Unless the funds from oil are divided in a manner acceptable to the east then the whole system could be shut down and everyone loses. There are signs that the Central Bank has at times refused necessary funds for the GNA to carry on all its activities. Again, Kobler has no advice as to how what he claims is necessary can be achieved.

Kobler then says: "Fourth is national reconciliation programs that include all the Libyan parties without any exclusion, while fifth is giving the governmental local bodies like municipalities more authorities, responsibilities and financial support to act each on the level of their municipal duties." The fourth point is well taken but may be difficult to set up in a manner that the meetings are not slanted in the direction of groups with their own agendas. The fifth point is complicated by the fact in the eastern part of the country under the influence of Khalifa Haftar many local authorities have been replaced by military officials. Kobler fails to even take note of this issue.

Kobler's final point is that neighboring countries should work with Libyan officials in both military and political divisions to facilitate a new round of "sincere dialogue". However, this ignores the fact that there are at least two significant sets of Libyan officials from the two rival governments. According to a UN resolution they should only deal with GNA officials but given the reality of the political division this makes no sense and countries violate the resolution all the time and no one says boo, They even deal with Ageela Saleh the sanctioned head of the HoR. While Kobler does point out some of the essential steps forward to solve the Libyan crisis, he says nothing about how what is necessary can be actually achieved. It remains to be seen if the recent meetings between Serraj and Haftar result in anything positive. There already appears to be renewed militia activity against the GNA by some militia in Tripoli.

GNC president rejects present LPA and demands changes

Martin Kobler, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya(UNSMIL), and Abu Sahmain the president of the General National Congress(GNC) government met in Tripoli today to discuss the Libya Political Agreement(LPA)

The LPA was signed on December17th in Skhirat Morocco by participants in the Libya dialogue including members of both the internationally-recognized House of Representatives(HoR0 based in Tobruk in the east and the GNC in the east. However, no members were authorized by either parliament to sign the document. Neither parliament has approved the document. The Libya dialogue began over a year ago and was designed to have representatives from the two rival governments and other stakeholders reach a political agreement that would see the two replaced by a unity government. No such agreement was ever reached in the sense that neither parliament approved the draft agreement. However the LPA signed in Skhirat has been widely supported including by the UN Security Council and later at a ministerial meeting in Rome.

After the meeting between Kobler and Sahmain, First Deputy of the GNC Awad Abdul-Sadig told reporters that the LPA should be amended before the GNC joined the LPA. However, Kobler has long insisted that no amendments are possible and the dialogue is over. Abdul-Sadig said; "We have three reservations about the draft, the first is about balance between the two parliaments, the second is about the high number of members of the Presidential Council, and the third is about security arrangements in which the General Staff and revolutionary fighters should be part of."

Since there is no mention of Haftar, the draft signed in Skhirat must still place the role of commander in chief of the Libyan National Army in the hands of the Presidential Council. The GNC certainly does not expect Haftar to stay on as head. However, the GNC does worry that the Libyan National Army I presume will be the sole legitimate military force whereas the GNC wants their forces to play some role. Abdul-Sadiq also noted that those who signed the Skhirat agreement did not represent the GNC only themselves. He also said that the prime minister designate of the GNA Fayaz Sirraj was welcome in Tripoli but simply as a Libyan national. This is a clear rejection of him as a prime minister of the GNA.

Earlier, the GNC had sent a letter from Abdul-Sadiq to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and also Kobler. The letter said the GNC supported the UN resolution 2259 that in turn supported the LPA, and even considered it a step toward peace and security in Libya. The letter demands that the constitutional declaration be amended before the Supreme State Council meets since the Council is to carry out its duties under the terms of the amended declaration. When this amendment was made the GNC said it would forward a valid list of names of the GNC members from which the members of the Council could be chosen. It may be that the Council has already been chosen. The letter : ....also confirmed the GNC's support for security arrangements of the Libyan dialogue, and commitment of the GNC to secure a safe environment in Tripoli for a concord government that meets both rival parties' approval first...Those who signed the Skhirat agreement were not appointed by the GNC. The only members appointed officially to sign any agreement are the dialogue team ones headed by the First Deputy President of the GNC, knowing that there is no majority consensus on approving the signed draft, as claimed by others.In other words, the GNC approves security arrangements but not for the present LPA or GNA but for one that does not exist and is unlikely to ever exist.

The Libya Herald reports that Martin Kobler has confirmed that the president of the HoR Ageela Salah has changed his stance and now supports the Skhirat agreement. He had up to recently supported the alternative Libya-Libya dialogue and peace plan also supported by Sahmain of the GNC. Sahmain continues to advocate that solution. On his official Twitter account Koblertweeted: ‘‘Encouraged by the meeting with president Ageela (Salah) in Beida today (and) his acceptance of the LPA. Good way forward." One would like to know what conditions Salah put on his acceptance. I expect that as with his tribe, the approval is conditional upon Haftar remaining as commander in chief. Do not expect Kobler to reveal a trivial fact such as this.

We still have no explanation of why after two meetings of the HoR to approve the LPA no quorum has yet been reached. Only 25 members attended the last meeting. When is the next meeting? I assume it will be this Monday but Kobler does not say. We do not yet have the text of the Skhirat agreement posted on the UN website or anywhere else. Why is the UN not posting this vital information. Why are not the press demanding it? Perhaps the UN may alter the agreement when it is faced with a situation where the LPA will not pass a vote of confidence in the HoR until it does so. The reason that it may not be passing through the HoR now is that the section that deprives Haftar of his job is still present. Even if it is voted on and approved by the HoR it will be with amendments or provisos. It will be interesting what sort of happy tweet Kobler will have if that happens.

Rival peace plan adopted by members of rival governments in Libya

The situation in Libya is becoming more and more complicated. New UN envoy Martin Kobler, since taking over the job on November 17, has been pushing the two rival governments to sign on to the UN-brokered Libya Political Agreement(LPA).

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Neither the internationally-recognized House of Representatives based in Tobruk in the east of Libya nor the General National Congress(GNC) based in the west have voted yet on the LPA or approved it, but both parliaments issued statements criticizing the LPA. However, 92 members of the HoR recently issued a statement, that although approving the LPA in principle, demands two crucial changes. One would keep General Khalifa Haftar as commander of the Libyan National Army. This is not only contradictory to the present LPA, which gives the job to senior members of the GNA — it is completely unacceptable to the other side. Why Kobler praises the statement is difficult to understand unless he is planning to cave to Haftar's demands. Haftar strongly rejects the LPA and has consistently gone against UN demands while pursuing a military solution, Operation Dignity, to clear out all, Islamists from Libya including the military forces, such as Libya Dawn, associated with the GNC government.

The HoR meeting to vote on the LPA was suspended after a fight with no vote. This is not mentioned in any statements by Kobler. The UN continues to act as if its own version of the LPA will become reality in time in spite of a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Kobler behaves as if the members suggested by the UN for the Government of National Accord are actual functioning officials. The proposed Prime Minister Faiez Ferraj has actually met with Egyptian and Algerian officials, even though he has no official status in any Libyan government. No wonder we now have a competing vision of a Government of National Accord negotiated by members of the HoR and the GNC.

The declaration by some members of the HoR and the GNC on Saturday would form a 10-member committee with five coming from each parliament. The committee would name an interim prime minister and two deputies. An election would take place within two years. By that time there should be a new constitution. This proposal was a Libyan initiative. Many Libyans consider the UN LPA a plan being imposed on Libya by outside powers. The new proposal is quite surprising in that members of the rival governments, neither of which recognizes the other, actually met in the same room and negotiated. There are no doubt many in both camps who will not accept the recognition of the two rival governments as having an equal say in the formation of the new government.

Mohammed Abdul-Sadiq, first deputy head of the GNC, was optimistic about the plan:"This is a historic moment the Libyans were waiting for, the Arabs were waiting for and the world was waiting for.. If this solution receives real Libyan support - from the people and institutions - we will surely arrive in no more than two weeks or a month to a solution to solve the political crisis,"

This new plan complicates the situation for the UN. Kobler just recently announced a deal based on the UN LPA was close and should be completed by the end of December.

The new deal was signed in Tunis by Abdul-Sadiq for the GNC and Ibrahim Amaish from Benghazi of the HoR. However, it is not clear what authority either group had from their respective parliaments to approve such a deal. Certainly, there is no way that General Haftar would allow the HoR to approve such a deal.

Kobler finally issued an update about the dialogue process. The statement does not even mention the new agreement. This is typical of the UN mind-set. Do not mention any reality that does not fit in with UN plans:The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya emphasized that the Libyan Political Agreement is the basis to end the conflict in the country. It has been negotiated for over a year and facilitated by the United Nations. It enjoys the support of the majorities of both House of Representatives and the General National Congress.

“The country needs peace in unity, it is divided now,” Kobler told Aljazeera International on 06 December. “It is now time for a rapid endorsement of the Libyan Political Agreement, the train has left the station.”He urges all Libyans to support this agreement including those who still oppose it.

The upcoming Rome conference co-chaired by Italy, US and the UN is an opportunity to demonstrate the determination of the international community on the way forward on the basis of the Libyan Political Agreement.

The statement is all about continuing what the UN wants. The part about the LPA enjoying the support of majorities in each parliament has not yet been proven by a vote. Even if the LPA is approved it will be with amendments that will not be acceptable to one side or the other. Kobler seems determined that he will continue pushing an LPA that has been rejected for months by key figures in both parliaments and which neither parliament wants to vote on because of the further divisions this would create.

Libyan GNC government warns EU that it could send a flood of refugees if not recognized

The General National Congress(GNC) Libyan government based in Tripoli issued a veiled threat to the EU that if it was not recognized by the EU then it could send "hundreds of thousands" more migrants to Europe.

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The GNC government rules much of western Libya and is a rival to the internationally-recognized House of Representatives(HoR) based in Tobruk. The HoR rules most of eastern Libya. Much of the south is de facto ruled by tribal groups and on the coast there is a pocket of Islamic State territory in the city of Sirte and surrounding area. In spite of the constant propaganda about the significance of the Islamic State in Libya, IS has lost control of its original base in the eastern city of Derna to rival Islamist militias. There are also a few militia groups in western Libya loyal to the HoR commander of the armed forces, Khalifa Haftar, including the Tribes Army that is accused by the GNC of shooting down a helicopter near Tripoli recently killing several important GNC military commanders.

Jamal Zubia, the GNC media spokesperson, told the Telegraph that the GNC was spending millions of pounds each year preventing migrants from crossing the Mediterranean using detention centres and also repatriating many. Zubia said: "To be honest, I have advised my government many times already that we should hire boats and send them to Europe. We are protecting the gates of Europe, yet Europe does not recognise us and does not want to recognise us. So why should we stop the migrants here?"

Last year alone, 170,000 refugees are estimated to have arrived in Italy from Libya. However, many may come through coastal areas not controlled by the GNC. All of eastern Libya is under control of the HoR and the coastal area around Sirte is controlled by the Islamic State. The HoR has complained that as part of its operations to control migration the Italian navy has violated its coastal waters. This year the numbers coming from Libya are down to 130,000 so far, as more come through Turkey and the Aegean.

The GNC government does not turn a blind eye to people smuggling. The Department for Combating Illegal Immigration employs about 8,000 people and detains large groups of migrants, often in miserable conditions. The GNC works as well with the International Organisation for Migration on voluntary repatriation. Coastal ports often run coastguard patrols. The sheer numbers, however, make it impossible for authorities with limited resources to adequately deal with the problem.

Zubia's threat is remarkable considering the fact that the international community is pressing for the formation of a unified Government of National Accord(GNA). The GNA would create one single government to deal with the problem and with EU authorities working to control the refugee crisis. Zubia did however assure the EU that the GNC had no immediate plans to carry out his threat. The threat might be intended to ensure that Bernardino Leon who is leading the UN dialogue process will recognize GNC concerns about the existing draft of the Libyan Political Agreement(LPA). The GNC had demanded amendments to the draft but Leon said this was not possible. Neither parliament has so far approved the draft of the LPA. Indeed, both parties have issued statements that appear to reject it but have not voted on the issue. Zubia may also be using the threat as a means to getting more aid from the EU to help deal with the migrant problem within the GNC area of control.

Leon was supposed to have held further dialogue talks last week but no formal talks were held apparently. He spent considerable time in Cairo meeting with Egyptian officials, as did the president of the HoR. There was also a meeting of foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, and Italy in Algiers to promote the formation of a unity government.

The UN is pushing for the two rivals to agree on a unity government. Leon has again amended his draft document after insisting it could not be amended. After each amendment one side or both have objected. This time he has expanded the presidential council of the GNA from six to nine. It remains to be seen if this will convince either parliament to agree to the unity government. Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the HoR armed forces, has rejected the former draft. Unless it is changed so that he remains head of the armed forces he is unlikely to accept any new agreement. Any agreement that leaves Haftar in place will be rejected by the GNC and many others also. The Libya Dawn militia associated with the GNC also rejected the draft. Without any military agreement any political pact will be unenforceable.

Members of the two rival parliaments are to meet on Tuesday to consider the new proposals. While the UN and the international community claim that the decision is up to Libyans the facts show exactly the opposite. The international community and the UN use the carrot of increased aid and security help for agreeing to the LPA and the stick of sanctions to those who do not. Recent meetings show concern about Egypt's role in supporting Haftar and the HoR, while instead of promised dialogue talks we have a meeting of foreign ministers. The rivals are not talking with each other and Libyan's are left to carry out what foreign interests want. The foreign interests also are planning intervention again once the GNA is formed.

Report claims Islamic State leader in Libya former rebel hero against Gaddafi

As the Islamic State expands its operations in Libya western media are paying more attention to this issue rather than the conflicts between military forces of the two rival governments, one in Tripoli and the internationally-recognized regime in Tobruk.

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As the appended video shows, one area where the IS holds sway is the city of Derna. It has been a jihadist center for ages even under the Gaddafi regime. However, many jihadist members such as those associated with Ansar al-Sharia, linked with Al Qaeda, are now leaving that organization and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State. The commentator on the video, Catherine Herridge, claims that there are support networks and training camps run by the IS now in Libya. Derna is in an area mostly under the control of the Tobruk government, but IS has also taken control in the city of Sirte, formerly under the control of the Tripoli government. Tripoli has launched military action in the hopes of taking back control.The IS training camps provide fighters for IS in Syria and Iraq as well as for operations in Libya and elsewhere such as Tunisia.

The Director of US National Intelligence James Clapper said :"From an intelligence perspective, we, I think, clearly need to step up our game from an ISR perspective, where we can operate,I think there’s a lot of merit to partnering with the French, who have sort of staked out their claim in the Sahel region of North Africa."

"ISR" stands for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, According to Herridge one of the leaders of IS in Libya is Abdelhakim Behadj. Other reports describe him as the leader of IS in Libya.

Belhadj has an interesting history, becoming at times a hero and good guy and at others a wanted terrorist. He very early grouped with other Islamists to try and unseat Gaddafi but ended up fleeing to Saudi Arabia and then to Afghanistan in 1988 where he fought in the jihad against the Soviet-backed Afghan regime. These groups were supported by CIA funds and when fighting against a regime supported by the Evil Empire were considered freedom fighters. After the Mujahideen took the capital Kabul, Belhadj eventually returned to Libya where he with others formed the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group(LIFG) in 1992. After three unsuccessful attempts to kill Gaddafi, the group was crushed in 1998.

Some sources say that LIFG was linked to Al Qaeda and key members such as Belhadj were members of Al Qaeda. However, Belhadj has denied being a member of Al Qaeda and the leadership of the group had denounced Al Qaeda's tactics and also an announcement they made that LIFG was associated with them. Nevertheless, LIFG was banned worldwide as an affiliate of Al-Qaeda and as a terrorist organization.

In 2002, Belhadj and other leaders of the LIFG fled again to Afghanistan and joined the Taliban. In 2002, after the 9/11 attacks, an arrest warrant was issued for Belhadj by Libyan authorities. By this time, Gaddafi was now on good terms with the west. After the US-led overthrow of the Taliban, Abdel left Afghanistan but was arrested in 2004 as he was leaving Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia with his pregnant wife. He was transferred to Bangkok and placed in the custody of the CIA and retained at a secret prison there. He was then flown on a rendition aircraft back to Libya where he was imprisoned for seven years and allegedly tortured.Belhaj was held in Tajoura prison, near Tripoli, where he says he was chained to a window, deprived of sleep, beaten, hung from the walls and kept in solitary confinement. He claims he was also interrogated by British intelligence officers who visited his cell.

Belhadj was active in the rebellion that ousted Gaddafi and was commander of the Tripoli Military Council following Operation Mermaid Dawn in late August of 2011. After the capture of Tripoli, Human Rights Watch found documents relating to Belhadj from both the CIA and the UK M16. The documents showed that UK intelligence had provided questions for his interrogators. Belhadj launched a suit against the UK government but in December 2013 a High Court judge ruled it could not go forward as it could damage UK national interests.

Neither Belhadj nor the Islamic State in Libya have confirmed Belhadj's status as yet. These reports may simply be designed to brand Belhadj as one of the "bad guys" again and discredit his attacks on the CIA and M16. If he were a commander or leader of the Islamic State in Libya one would think that they would be advertising the fact since he was an important leader in the fight against Gaddafi. One can understand that as an Islamist Belhadj would take up arms against the forces of CIA-linked General Haftar, commander of the Tobruk armed forces, but the Islamic State also is fighting against the rival Tripoli government that has many moderate Islamists in its ranks. If, as he claims, he never belonged to Al Qaeda and indeed disagreed with their tactics, it hardly seems likely he would join with the Islamic State whose violence is even more indiscriminate than that of Al Qaeda.

Haftar and Tobruk government sabotaging UN-sponsored peace talks

The UN and western powers simply refuse to face the fact that the internationally recognized government of Abdullah al-Thinni in Tobruk and his newly minted CIA-linked military chief Khalifa Haftar are on a mission to recapture Tripoli.

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The UN Support Mission in Libya(UNSMIL) and the UN envoy Bernardino Leon have warned the two governments, one in Tobruk and the other in Tripoli not to bomb or battle as this conflicted with the peace talks and the transition to democracy. In response, the Tobruk government bombed the one functioning airport in Tripoli before earlier talks and again on Thursday just as the Tripoli government representatives were ready to fly to Rabat Morooco for the talks. The talks had to be postponed until Friday. Since then the same Tobruk government and allied forces have tried to advance on Tripoli and there have been further air strikes on Tripoli.The Al-Thinni government proudly announced that "forces linked to General Khalifa Haftar have launched a military offensive to "liberate" Tripoli. On its Facebook page the government said: "The government salutes the operations launched by army units south of Tripoli which constitute the start of an offensive to liberate Tripoli and its suburbs,"So instead of doing as requested by the UN, the Tobruk government is launching a military offensive, not against the Islamic State but against the Tripoli government, a government that the Supreme Court of Libya recognizes while declaring the Tobruk House of Representatives should be dissolved since it was the result of an unconstitutional election last June.

The dialogue is intended to lead the formation of a unity government and a cease fire as well. The talks are still going on. Originally, Leon hoped an agreement would be signed and announced today March 22, but this has been postponed until at least tomorrow. Leon said that reaching an agreement was "going to be difficult". Leon had already commented on the beginning of the offensive on Friday directed toward the capital saying: "[On Friday] we had a new military operation against Tripoli precisely during decisive moments of the talks and our reaction today is as strong as it was in the past.Military activities undermine the situation in Libya and prevent the unity of the Libyans fighting terrorism. This operation we condemn in the strongest possible terms because it's undermining dialogue."The strong reaction is a tongue-lashing UN-style that refuses even to name who is the object of the lashing. No doubt there will be more condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the renewed bombing of Tripoli. However Al Jazeera's reporter, Hashem Ahelbarra, said that the international community will hold "whoever is held responsible for undermining the political process by launching more attacks in Libya is going to be targeted by UN sanctions". It is clear that it is Haftar's armed forces, commander of the Tobruk government recognized by that same international community, who is bombing Tripoli and launching an offensive against the rival government. Prime Minister al-Thinni is bombing his own people. When Gaddafi did that the international community was up in arms and committed to regime change and the measures needed to ensure that right away.

Tomorrow, Leon is to leave for Brussels where there are talks with representatives from municipalities and other political stakeholders. Who exactly they are has never been publicized. The representatives of the two rival governments will remain in Morocco to draft plans for a unity government and a cease fire. Given that the Tobruk government is busy launching a military offensive, it is not clear what relevance the dialogue has except that it provides a convenient platform for western governments to support to show that their hearts are in the right place.

Western powers have strongly supported resumption of the peace talks. They see a unity government as a much better way to tackle the Islamic State in Libya than supporting Haftar's campaign against all Islamists and the Tripoli government. Taking Haftar's route would lead to civil war. A joint statement by France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Britain and the US said:We call on the Libyan political leaderships to act responsibly and to make clear their support for the dialogue and call on them to exercise authority over military and militia leaders and ensure civilian oversight and control of their actions and disavow military actions not taken in that framework,”Have they not noticed that the Tobruk government has given its full support for the bombing of Tripoli and the offensive against Tripoli while the peace talks are ongoing. So far neither side has even talked directly to the other. The Tripoli group are willing to do so but the Tobruk representatives refuse direct talks unless the other side recognizes them as the sole legitimate government. Even if an agreement is reached on a unity government and a cease fire by the dialogue group, there is almost no chance Haftar will agree. If the Al-Thinni government objects, they may find that Haftar burns down the Tobruk House of Representatives as he did the Tripoli parliament before when al-Thinni was head of the GNC transitional government.