Allegations that Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the Libyan National Army, oversaw a "terror cell" that launched drone attacks on fuel storage facilities and power stations in western Libya have derailed unity negotiations between the Tripoli-based government of national unity and forces aligned with his father, warlord Khalifa Haftar.
The GNU said working with Saddam Haftar is "impossible" following the allegations, according to reporting by The Guardian. The breakdown represents a collapse of a US-backed merger plan intended to unify Libyan security, judicial and political institutions.
Saddam Haftar had been positioned by the US as a key figure in efforts to consolidate Libya's fragmented state institutions. The drone attacks targeted critical infrastructure in western Libya, where the GNU maintains its primary authority. The allegations have now made his continued participation in formal unity talks untenable for the Tripoli government.
The Guardian reported these developments but did not provide specific dates for when the attacks occurred, the extent of damage, or confirmation of the allegations against Saddam Haftar from independent sources beyond the GNU's claims. The report also does not detail the US government's response to the allegations or whether Washington intends to adjust its approach to Libyan unification efforts.
Libya remains divided between competing power bases, with the Tripoli-based GNU controlling western regions and the Haftar-aligned Libyan National Army dominant in the east. Previous attempts at national reconciliation have repeatedly foundered over disputes about military command structures and the role of armed groups in any future unified state.