Anti-Islamist general sworn in as Libya army chief

Anti-Islamist General Khalifa Haftar was sworn in Monday as the new army chief in conflict-ridden Libya, a week after his nomination by the elected parliament, a spokesman for the legislature said.

"Khalifa Belgacem Haftar, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, took the oath before the parliament," spokesman Faraj Abu Hachem told AFP.

Haftar, 72, was also promoted from the rank of lieutenant general to general, Abu Hachem added, the highest rank currently for any officer in Libya.

Supporters of the mainly-Islamist Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) alliance hang a puppet depicting Khalifa Haftar during a protest on March 6, 2015 in Tripoli's central Martyr's Square ©Mahmud Turkia (AFP)

Last May, Haftar launched an offensive against Islamists in the country's east, focused on the second city of Benghazi, prompting the then-government to accuse him of trying to stage a coup.

But after Islamist militias seized Tripoli, following disputed elections in June, the internationally recognised authorities allied themselves with Haftar and in February formally requested that he and 129 other retired officers return to active duty.

Haftar's appointment had raised fears that it could derail efforts by UN envoy Bernardino Leon to push ahead with a political dialogue between Libyan rival factions to set up a national unity government.

Critics of Haftar, including the powerful Fajr Libya militia alliance that has set up a rival parliament and government in Tripoli after seizing the capital in Augusts, consider him a dictator.

But Haftar's supporters see in the white-haired general a "saviour" determined to rid Libya of Islamists whose influence has grown since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed strongman Moamer Kadhafi.

Army spokesman Colonel Ahmed al-Mesmari told AFP "Haftar accepted the position under pressure from the street."

Haftar served under Kadhafi and took part in the 1969 military coup that toppled the monarchy and brought the former dictator to power.

But he fell from grace with Kadhafi after he commanded a unit during Libya's fruitless war with Chad in 1978-1987.

He was later given political asylum in the United States, where he lived for more than 20 years with rumours abounding that he worked for the CIA.

He returned home in March 2011 weeks after the uprising started to join the rebellion against Kadhafi.

A soldier loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government and to General Khalifa Haftar monitors a street in Benghazi on February 28, 2015 ©Abdullah Doma (AFP)