But after being absent from the country for over two decades, Hifter was unable to wrestle full control of the rebel faction from Abdul Fattah Younes, Qaddafi's former interior minister. Within months, though, Hifter gained complete command after Younes was mysteriously assassinated.
By 2014 Hifter had secured his position and he launched Operation Dignity in May of that year. In March 2015, Hifter was officially sworn in as army chief by Libya's UN-recognized government based in Tobruk. But Libya's Supreme Court ruled that Hifter's opposition in Libya, the General National Congress, was the national legislature, essentially leaving Libya with two competing governments.
U.S. allies currently supporting Hifter
In May 2014, when asked if Egypt and the UAE were behind Hifter, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Deborah Jones said, "I have nothing for you on that."
One is Libya Dawn, a grouping of militias that includes various Islamist groups as well as forces from the east of the country, which supports the former elected parliament ... It vehemently opposes any role for former members of the Qaddafi regime in politics, and is backed by Qatar and Turkey.
The other is Dignity, headed by a general, Khalifa Hifter ... It would prefer to include some members of the previous regime in politics, and is backed by Egypt and the UAE."
Is Hifter still supported by the U.S.?
The U.S. continues to send mixed signals on whether or not they currently support Hifter.
In May 2014, when asked about Hifter, then U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said, "we have not had contact with him recently." She went on to say that the department did not condone the violent attacks being led by Hifter in Libya.
But just a few days later, Ambassador Jones said that she would not "condemn blanketly" the actions of Hifter, who declared war on Islamic "terrorists" in Libya and forced the country to call new parliamentary elections. Hifter's actions were described as "a de facto coup" by some.
The Ambassador added that Hifter is "clearly one of the influencers" in Libya and that "our approach now is to reach out to all the influencers."
But mixed signals continued to be sent when an anonymous senior U.S. official told The New Yorker magazine, that "the U.S. government has nothing to do with General Khalifa Hifter. Hifter is killing people, and he says he is targeting terrorists, but his definition is way too broad."
Who are U.S. bombs targeting in Libya?
It has been established that Hifter was supported by the CIA for some period of time, but whether he continues to receive direct U.S. support is uncertain.
If nothing else, Hifter's cause is being aided by the U.S.
In November 2015, two U.S. F-15 aircraft launched an airstrike against Hifter's rivals in Derna, Libya. At the time, residents in Sirte and Tripoli reported U.S. drones and spy planes orbiting above.
Another U.S. airstrike followed last week as fighter-bombers struck an alleged ISIS training camp in rural Libya near the Tunisian border, killing at least 49 people, including two Serbian embassy staffers who were being held hostage by ISIS.
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