“Our victory day is coming soon”, Libyan National Army (LNA) chief General Khalifa Haftar said of the ongoing battle for Tripoli, during an address in Benghazi on Wednesday.
During the speech, directed mostly towards LNA fighters, Haftar referred to forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) as a “monstrous enemy with an unprecedented record of crimes” but said the LNA had “broken their back and brought down their flag.”
Haftar also said that the LNA’s goal is to free the entire country from “terrorists so they don’t dirty it with their dirty feet,” vowing that Libya will become a “free and stable” country.
The LNA, which controls much of Libya’s east and parts of the south, launched an offensive to gain control of Tripoli from the UN-backed GNA in April. According to World Health Organisation statistics, fighting in Tripoli has so far left over 1,000 people dead and nearly 6,000 injured, alongside at least 100,000 displaced.