Khalifa Haftar, Libya’s strongest warlord, makes a push for Tripoli

KHALIFA HAFTAR’S decision would be troubling enough under normal circumstances. On April 4th Libya’s strongest warlord ordered his men to march on Tripoli. His self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) already controls the east and took the south in a lightning offensive earlier this year. Now it turns to the capital, home to a weak United Nations-backed government that has no army of its own. A spokesman claims the LNA already controls three towns along a highway to Tripoli. The closest, Aziziya, is just 40km southwest. “Control” has many meanings in Libya, and the LNA tends to exaggerate its gains; it may be that locals simply let it pass. Regardless, though, it is knocking on the gates of the capital.