The United States has given its backing to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar and his offensive on Tripoli to oust the UN-recognized government in the capital, according to Bloomberg citing three US officials.

Last Friday, the White House revealed that Trump spoke by phone with Haftar as his The Libyan National Army (LNA) forces continued to push toward Tripoli with heavy shelling in the southern parts of the Libyan capital.

The White House statement said that Trump “recognized Field Marshal Haftar’s significant role in fighting terrorism and securing Libya’s oil resources, and the two discussed a shared vision for Libya’s transition to a stable, democratic political system.”

A White House spokesman who declined to be identified, described the characterization of the phone calls between Haftar and Trump as inaccurate without further elaborating, according to Bloomberg.

That came a day after Russia and the United States opposed a British bid at the UN Security Council, backed by France and Germany, to demand a ceasefire in Libya.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 14:04 - GMT 11:04