The battle for Tripoli could be decided by the Madkhalis
Nov 14th 2019TRIPOLIFOR MONTHS General Khalifa Haftar, Libya’s most powerful warlord, has besieged Tripoli, struggling to wrest control of the capital from the UN-backed “government of national accord” (GNA). More than 1,000 people have been killed. Mr Haftar is aided by Emirati and Egyptian air strikes. But the lines hardly move. A little-known group of Salafists (ultra-conservative Muslims) called the Madkhalists may yet tip the balance.Under orders from their leader, an octogenarian Saudi preacher named Rabee al-Madkhali, the Madkhalists outside the capital have joined Mr Haftar’s ranks, while those inside encourage fighters to give up. “Put down your weapons, go home, pray and read the Koran,” says Fahmy Naas, a follower in Tripoli. War is fitna (strife or sedition), he insists.Choose us for news analysis that respects your time and intelligenceSubscribe to The EconomistWe filter out the noise of the daily news cycle and analyse the trends that matterWe give you rigorous, deeply researched and fact-checked journalism. That’s why Americans named us their most trusted news source in 2017Available wherever you are—in print, digital and, uniquely, in audio, fully narrated by professional broadcastersThis website adheres to all nine of NewsGuard‘s standards of credibility and transparency.ORContinue reading this articleRegister with an email address