Khalifa Haftar

Chalifa Bilkasim Haftar - former commander of the Libyan army during the Chadian-Libyan war. He returned to his homeland in 2011 to support the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. Some sources have reported military connections with the CIA.

Haftar held a senior position in the forces which overthrew Gaddafi in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC but then developed into a civil war.

Haftar has been described as "Libya's most potent warlord", having fought "with and against nearly every significant faction" in Libya's conflicts, and as having a "reputation for unrivalled military experience". On 4 April 2019, Haftar called on his forces to advance on Tripoli, the capital of the internationally-recognized government of Libya. This was met with reproach from Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the United Nations Security Council