Libya’s presidential elections: Khalifa Haftar announces bid

Eastern commander Khalifa Haftar will run in Libya’s presidential elections due next month, he announced in a televised speech, Reuters reported.

“Elections are the only way out of the severe crisis that our country has plunged into,” said Haftar, who was expected to formally register at the election centre in Benghazi.

Haftar, commander of a force called the Libyan National Army, waged war on factions in the west after the country split in 2014, including a 14-month offensive to capture Tripoli which was repelled by the internationally recognized government.