Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Egypt has been deemed a leading supporter of this week’s mutiny within the Libyan military.

Diplomatic sources said renegade Gen. Khalifa Hafter was receiving guidance and military support from Egypt.

The sources said Hafter, who led an offensive against Islamist militias in eastern Libya, was also receiving money through Egypt from Gulf Cooperation Council states.

“The Arab states see Hafter as the only hope to provide stability in Libya,” a diplomat said.

The sources said Hafter succeeded in recruiting virtually the entire Libyan military. They said the military, despite statements by the General Staff, has not stopped operations by troops loyal to Hafter.

Hafter, said to have worked with the CIA for more than 20 years, has long been seen as a supporter of the United States. But the sources said Egypt and the GCC groomed Hafter for a takeover of Libya after they determined that the United States was protecting the Islamist militias connected to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“The assessment by the Arab regimes was that Washington wanted the
Islamists regardless of what this was doing to Libya,” another source said.

These militias have been backing Libyan parliamentary speaker Nuri Abu
Sahmain, commander of the so-called Central Libya Shield Forces. On May 22,
the government broke its silence and disassociated from Central Shield.

“The force does not belong to the government,” Libyan Culture Minister
Habib Lamin said. “This threatens the security of residents in Tripoli. We
have a critical and dangerous situation.”

A leading Egyptian Islamist disclosed Arab support for Hafter. Ihad
Sheha, chairman of the Asala Party, called Hafter an agent of the United
Arab Emirates, particularly Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed.

“He has sought to stage a coup with all his might, and Bin Zayed uses
his money for a failed agent, similar to [Egyptian presidential frontrunner
Abdul Fatah] Sisi,” Sheha. said.

The chaos in Libya has sparked an alert by Arab and Western embassies.
Most foreign consulates have already abandoned Benghazi while Arab embassies
were leaving Libya.

“The U.S. is being blamed by both Hafter and the Islamists for what is
taking place in the country,” the source said. “Therefore, the U.S. presence
in Libya has become very vulnerable.”

  Asala Party, Egypt, Gen. Hafter recruited Libya’s entire military command with Egypt’s backing, Gen. Khalifa Hafter, Gulf Cooperation Council, Once a U.S. asset, Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed