Khalifa Haftar is a Libyan politician and military leader in charge of Eastern Libya. He is the commander of Libyan National Army (LNA).
Khalifa Haftar is a controversial Libyan warlord is supported by United Arab Emirates, Saudia Arabia, Egypt and Russia.
He has an army of 70,000+ fighters under his command.
Libya has been affected by civil war since 2011 when Gadhaffi was overthrown.
Khalifa Haftar is extremely wealth as an individual. His wealth is estimated to be $3 billion. He owns real estate properties in the US, a mansion in Amman, Jordan; real estate in United Arab Emirates.
The Haftar family has owned at least 17 real estate properties in Virginia area alone. They sold most of the properties after a US judge ruled that Haftar will face charges for war crimes.
In 1969, Khalifa Haftar participated in Gaddafi’s coup against the monarch led by King Idris and subsequently rose to a high rank in the army. In 1987, he led the invasion into Chad. However, he was captured and imprisoned with his troops. Gadaffi refused to negotiate for their released. He felt betrayed and that is how he accepted to work for the CIA against Gadaffi.
Khalifa Haftar was once a CIA asset who worked against the leadership of Muhammad Gaddafi. During a coup in Chad, Khalifa was evacuated to Iraq and in 1991 he migrated to the United States of America where he stayed for two decades.
He returned home to Libya in 2011 after Gaddafi was overthrown. Having fought in nearly every war in Libya, Khalifa Haftar has unrivaled military experience.
Hafrar speaks Arabic, Italian, Russian and some French. He graduated from Benghazi Military University Academy in 1966. In 1970s, he received additional military training in Russia. He later studied in Egypt.
In 1973, he supported Egyptian troops entering Sinai which was occupied by Israel.
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