An Al-Qaeda-inspired group today vowed to fight a Libyan renegade general who is waging an offensive against Islamists, accusing him of being an "American agent" who wants to replicate last year's military overthrow of an elected government in neighbouring Egypt.
Mohammed al-Zahawi, the leader of Ansar al-Shariah, said in a televised press conference that his group would combat Gen. Khalifa Hifter's so-called "Dignity Operation," which began more than 10 days ago and is aimed at crushing Islamist militias and their political backers.
Hifter has won the support of politicians, diplomats, army units and tribes who want him to impose order and rein in the country's unruly militias three years after the toppling and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Al-Zahawi, speaking in front of the black flag of his group, warned Hifter against opening the "doors of hell" to a conflict similar to Syria's civil war. He warned the United States against backing Hifter, saying it would face a "shameful defeat" and drawing comparisons with the US interventions in Afghanistan and Somalia.
