Ex-general accused of coup try

TRIPOLI, Libya — The self-declared Libyan National Army, led by a renegade retired general, told civilians yesterday to leave parts of Benghazi before it attacks Islamist militants, a day after dozens were killed in the worst clashes in the city in months.

Families could be seen packing up and driving away from western districts of the port city, where Islamist militants and LNA forces led by retired Gen. Khalifa Haftar fought for hours on Friday.

Haftar, whom the speaker of parliament accused of plotting a coup, said his troops had temporarily withdrawn from Benghazi for tactical reasons.

“We’ll come back with force,” he said in Abyar, a small town to the east of Benghazi. “We’ve started this battle and will continue it until we have reached our goals.”

He said government and parliament have no legitimacy because they have failed to ensure security.

In Tripoli, the parliamentary speaker, Nuri Abu Sahmain, who is also the military commander in chief, said Haftar is

Retired Gen. Khalifa Haftar is fighting Islamic militants in Benghazi, saying the government has no legitimacy.

trying to carry out a coup.

“(LNA) members who have carried out the clashes in Benghazi are out of the control of the state of Libya, and they are trying to attempt a coup for their own interests,” Abu Sahmain said in a televised news conference.

A Health Ministry official said the death toll had risen to 43, and more than 100 were wounded. Haftar said 60 militants and six of his soldiers were killed, and 250 militants and 37 of his men were wounded.

The Libyan news website Ajwa Belad said late yesterday that 75 people had been killed and 141 wounded, citing official data.

Authorities extended the closure of Benghazi’s Benina airport yesterday. Egyptair halted flights to Benghazi until the security situation improves, an Egyptian security official said.

The Libyan army declared a no-fly zone after Haftar’s forces used at least one helicopter during Friday’s fighting, according to a statement on the chief of staff’s website.

Haftar, a leading figure in the 2011 uprising that ousted Gadhafi, stirred rumors of a coup in February by appearing in military uniform to call for a presidential committee to be formed to govern until new elections.

U.S. and European countries are helping to build up the regular army, but Libya’s armed forces and government cannot control the brigades of former rebels and militants who once fought Gadhafi.