Libya’s Haftar threatens to bomb any warship in territorial water

The Libyan eastern commander of Operation Dignity, Khalifa Haftar, has ordered his air force and navy force troops to destroy any ships that are not commercial inside the Libyan waters.  This order comes as the Italian parliament approved Wednesday to send to Libyan waters a naval mission with two Italian warships and a number of officials and experts as well as naval troops to be positioned in Libya to stem migrants flow fro Libyan shores to Italy.  Haftar’s call also comes after the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) had issued a televised statement rejecting any agreements made by the Head of the Presidential Council, Fayez Al-Serraj, with Italy regarding the stemming of illegal immigration in the Libyan waters.  The HoR announced that the request of the Presidential Council’s Head is illegitimate as first it violates the Libyan laws because such agreements must be made by the legislative body (the HoR) and second it violates the Libyan sovereignty.  Meanwhile, according to the spokesman of the Libyan Naval Force, Ayoub Qasim, an Italian vessel already arrived in Tripoli Naval Base in Abu Sitta area and will be tasked in cooperation with the Libyan coastguards in combating human trafficking. On the political side, Italy will initially deploy two ships, in what the government says is an operation to help the Libyan coastguard and target people smugglers. On the other hand, The head of Libya's committee tasked with writing the constitution called upon the eastern parliament Tuesday to hold a national referendum on a final draft, setting in motion a long-awaited step that it's hoped will end the current political stalemate and terminate power struggles among the country's rival parties. More than three years overdue, the draft still leaves many of Libya's key questions unanswered. Experts warn that its lack of clarity will pave the way for another phase of instability, which has plagued the country since the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. The call by Nouh Abdel-Sayyed to "take all necessary measures to enable the Libyan people to practice their constitutional right" came after days of confusion over whether his committee is following proper legal procedures. On Saturday, disgruntled protesters stormed the committee's session in the eastern town of Bayda, calling for a redo of their vote, which was in favor of putting the final draft up for a nationwide referendum. Opponents included secessionists who wanted greater say over the redistribution of resources in the oil-rich country and those in favor of the country's 1951 constitution, which would mean a return to the monarchy. The 60-member committee was elected in a direct vote in 2014; it was scheduled to deliver a draft in 120 days. However, unrelenting conflicts forced delays. Legal expert Sami al-Atrash said articles of the constitution look innocent enough on the surface, but "it's not a homogenous document and this is not an honest attempt to produce an inclusive constitution." A look at the draft shows efforts to keep most of the articles as vague as possible to avoid conflicts among the country's rival parties. The draft made no mention of the national anthem or the flag, to avoid friction between those who backed the 2011 uprising against Gadhafi and those who continue to support him.