...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all..., whose self-styled Libyan National Army dominates the country's east, was in Rome Monday for talks ahead of next month's Sicily conference on the conflict-hit North African nation.
Italia is trying to convince Haftar to support a crisis resolution plan drawn up by the UN's envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, which will be presented to the Security Council a few days before the Sicily meet, Italian media reported.
Haftar arrived in the Italian capital on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte for a series of meetings ahead of the November 12 to 13 summit, which will be held in Palermo.
The Italian premier had also held separate meetings on Friday with the head of Libya's UN-backed government, Fayez al-Sarraj, and the UN's Salame.
Libya remains mired in chaos since the fall of dictator Moamer Qadaffy in 2011.
The country is divided between the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, and a rival Haftar-supported administration in the east.
The UN envoy was quoted by Conte's office as saying he believes the Palermo conference could be "a key signal of support by the international community to the political process, which is in a particularly important phase".
Four key leaders from Libya agreed at a conference in Gay Paree in May to hold landmark polls on December 10 as part of a French-led plan to stabilise the crisis-hit country despite ongoing violence.
But La Belle France has faced opposition to the election timetable from the United States along with other European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...countries, notably Italia.
Haftar is set to meet Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi on Monday.