Fears of revenge attacks as rebel general’s forces flee last stronghold in western Libya

Rights group warn ‘civilians once again paying the price as all parties escalate retaliatory attacks’

Renegade Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar abandoned his last remaining stronghold in the country’s west in the early hours of Friday, raising fears of reprisal attacks against civilians deemed to be his supporters.

The loss of the city of Tarhuna, 40 miles southeast of the capital Tripoli, marks an end to Haftar’s ill-fated 14-month campaign to conquer the country’s densely populated northwest.

The infamous Kaniyat militia, Mr Haftar’s local affiliate in Tarhuna, fled with minimal fight, allowing forces loyal to the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) to take control.

Video footage showed GNA fighters collecting military vehicles and other hardware left by Haftar’s departing forces. Other footage posted to the Facebook page of the GNA’s military showed fighters embracing residents of Tarhuna, with car horns being honked in celebration.

Libyan officials said their next targets were to retake the central coastal city of Sirte from Haftar, the Jufrah airbase in the country’s desert south and southern oil fields under Mr Haftar’s control.

Residents celebrate in Tripoli (AFP /Getty) (AFP via Getty Images)

“Our battle continues and we are determined to extend state control over all the territory of Libya,” said Fayez Serraj, prime minister of the GNA.

But there were also growing fears of looting and revenge attacks in Tarhuna, a city of at least 13,000, and rural nearby villages home to thousands more.

Tarhuna was a stronghold of the late former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and relations between the town and the Islamist-leaning government in Tripoli have been strained since the 2011 uprising that felled the former regime. The town has long been allied with Haftar.

Amnesty International yesterday issued a brief that warned of a pattern of retribution as towns change hands in Libya. Both the GNA and Haftar’s Libyan Arab Armed Forces have been accused of war crimes following military victories.

The Amnesty report cited witnesses and videos confirming the looting of homes in towns west and south of Tripoli taken by the GNA from Haftar in recent weeks. It also cited residents alleging Haftar’s loyalists placed landmines and booby-trapped bombs as they withdrew from civilian areas last month.

“Civilians in Libya are once again paying the price as all parties escalate retaliatory attacks and other grave violations showing utter disregard for the laws of war and lives of civilians,” said Diana Eltahawy of Amnesty. She urged both sides’ backers in Ankara, Moscow and Abu Dhabi to rein in their Libyan proxies.

A man waves a Libyan flag in Tripoli in celebration of GNA victories this week (AFP/Getty)

Local reports and witness accounts suggested that many residents of Tarhuna and their families were fleeing 60 miles away to the city of Bani Walid, which has also served as a Haftar stronghold, for fear of revenge attacks by GNA fighters that have been branded terrorist militias by UAE and Saudi-funded media outlets.

Libyan armed forces loyal to the GNA publicly warned fighters they would face “the most severe penalties” if they carried out any “reprisals, theft or vandalism” against Tarhuna residents who may be seen as sympathetic to Haftar.

Civilians in Libya are once again paying the price as all parties escalate retaliatory attacks and other grave violations showing utter disregard for the laws of war and lives of civilians

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty

The withdrawal marked the latest in a string of stinging defeats for Haftar following the robust intervention of Turkey on behalf of the GNA earlier this year.

Haftar, a 76-year-old former CIA asset backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and France, was reportedly in Cairo, conferring with his patron and mentor, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, over possible next moves.