For months now, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar has been pushing to further legitimize his long-standing grip on power in Libya’s eastern and parts of southern regions. The general—who launched what he and his supporters called the Karama (“Dignity”) Revolution in May 2014—has always had one overriding ambition: to rule Libya. His self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), initially composed of former Gaddafi-era soldiers and new volunteers, became the vehicle for that ambition. More than a decade later, Haftar’s influence has not waned. Instead, it has evolved—strengthened and partially legitimised by economic ventures and large-scale reconstruction projects across the east, including the rebuilding of 2023 flood-devastated Derna. In Sirte, at the heart of the country, LNA-backed projects have transformed the city’s landscape, with a newly renovated airport, expanded housing developments, and an overhaul of infrastructure destroyed during both the 2011 civil war and the 2016 battle against the Islamic State group.

Faced with a new United Nations roadmap that promotes an inclusive Structured Dialogue — one that could sideline him and his loyalists — the septuagenarian general made a decisive pre-emptive move. In July 2024, he appointed his son, Saddam, as deputy commander of the LNA, and his other son, Khaled, as chief of staff. The reshuffle effectively, in the eyes of his adversaries, turned the LNA into a family enterprise rather than a national military force, tightening the Haftars’ personal control while undermining any claim that the institution serves all Libyans.

To reinforce his bid for public legitimacy—and likely to pre-empt the UN’s roadmap—Haftar has launched a series of high-profile tribal meetings at his headquarters in Rajma, southeast of Benghazi. In one such gathering, he stated that the “Libyan solution” would be guaranteed by the LNA to bring an end to the country’s transitional period.........

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