The military situation around Tripoli is very confused. The militia groups loyal to the al-Sarraj government are trying to stem the advance of Haftar's troops.
Al-Sarraj relies on troops poorly trained and equipped - mainly the Misurata militias, whose loyalty to the Tripoli government is at least questionable - to defend the Libyan capital.
The Libyans have never been great fighters, in fact, since the time of the revolt against the regime in the 2011, Colonel Gaddafi had enlisted Russians (to be employed as pilots and ground specialists), but above all mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa . In fact, it would seem that among the forces of Haftar there are also nuclei of Sudanese and Chadian mercenaries, excellent desert warriors, who in the past have already done much damage to the forces loyal to the Colonel.
The news that the White House seems to have chosen to focus on Haftar for the stabilization of Libya, acknowledging the merit of playing a significant role in fighting terrorism and preserving Libya's energy resources.
In the statement issued by President Trump's spokesman, it is stressed that the current Administration recognizes General Haftar as the only actor capable of leading the North African country towards a stable and democratic political system.
With this recognition, the United States is thus aligned with Russia, France, Egypt, the Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia which, albeit in different ways, support Haftar's military action.
The American tour of waltzes further isolates the position of Rome, which, as is known, follows a United Nations foreign policy, or support the legitimacy of the al-Sarraj government, against the aggression of the strong man of Cyrenaica.
Needless to say, the Libyan question is fundamental for Italy. We installed, from the 2016, a hospital in the city of Misurata, trying to maintain a very low profile, almost like a secret. Just the Misurata militias enjoy the support of Turkey, in fact they are the only ones that are opposing the advance of the Haftar forces. However, these are unreliable groups (completely misleading the image given by a certain print of defenders of democracy), often in conflict with each other and it is not to be excluded that their services have been bought to the sound of money.
In our opinion, the action of Haftar, rather than the conquest of Tripoli, is aimed at the total control of the country's energy resources (oil plants and hydrocarbon deposits). A victory at the political level of Haftar would condemn Italy to marginalization in the region, to the advantage of the nations (first of all France) which instead supported it.
Photo: defense ministry archive
