Libya unity talks disrupted after allegations link Haftar's son to drone attacks on fuel sites

Allegations that Saddam Haftar oversaw a group behind drone attacks on fuel storage facilities and power stations in western Libya have thrown the country's latest unity talks into doubt. The claims have deepened tensions between the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity and the eastern camp led by Khalifa Haftar. They also come as the United States has been trying to push Libya's rival institutions towards a single political and security framework.

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According to the reported allegations, Saddam Haftar, who is deputy commander of the Libyan National Army, was linked to what was described as a "terror cell" behind the strikes. The attacks took place in August and were said to have worsened electricity blackouts in the west of the country. That in turn increased pressure on the GNU, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, at a time when it was being asked to keep working with Haftar's side on a merger plan.

The drone campaign reportedly lasted for more than five days and targeted the Zawiya oil station and fuel storage facilities in western Libya. One strike hit a gasoline-storage tank at the Zawiya oil complex, west of Tripoli, causing a large fire and the tank's collapse. Libya's National Oil Corporation said the tank held about 4.5 million litres of fuel when it was struck.

The disruption added to already severe power shortages and highlighted the vulnerability of energy infrastructure in the west. The allegations matter because they cut directly across efforts to unify Libya's divided institutions. Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has remained split between an eastern administration dominated by Haftar and a western administration based in Tripoli.

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That division has left Libya's oil-rich economy exposed to corruption, militia activity, migrant trafficking and outside interference, while also making any national settlement difficult to sustain. The latest diplomatic push has been associated with Massad Boulos, the Africa adviser to Donald Trump, who has been promoting a plan under which Haftar from the east would take a presidential role and a member of the Dbeibah family from the west would become prime minister. Boulos has said the process is not intended to be a quick fix that entrenches family rule.

But the drone attacks have complicated that effort by raising questions over whether the two sides can cooperate on security and political integration. The GNU has said working with Saddam Haftar is now "impossible", reflecting the political damage caused by the allegations. On 5 September, three Libyans and one Spanish citizen were arrested in southern Tripoli by the GNU in connection with the case, according to the report.

It remains unclear how the accusations will affect the wider merger plan, whether there will be further arrests, or whether the eastern and western authorities can resume talks after the latest escalation.

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