Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar has said his forces would cease hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan following international calls for a truce in the war-torn North African nation. Ahmed Mismari, spokesman for Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), said in a television broadcast on Thursday the ceasefire came at the request of the international community and “friendly countries”. The announcement came after pro-Haftar forces suffered a series of setbacks in recent weeks in their year-long campaign to seize Tripoli with forces loyal to the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) expelling them from two key coastal cities west of the capital. Explosions in the centre of Tripoli were heard after the announcement. A source from GNA told Al Jazeera it would not adhere to the truce. Mismari warned violations by the GNA would be met with an “immediate and harsh response”. Sami Hamdi, the editor-in-chief of the International Interest, a current affairs analysis magazine, told Al Jazeera that Haftar was announcing the truce now “because the tide of the Tripoli offensive has altered”.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
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