Alleged Haftar son’s drone campaign derails Libya unity talks and election roadmap

Accusations have emerged that Saddam Haftar, the LNA’s deputy commander, oversaw a “terror cell” responsible for a wave of drone strikes on fuel storage sites and power stations in western Libya during August. The attacks, which hit the Zawiya oil complex and sparked a large fire, worsened electricity shortages and heightened public anger toward Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity. The revelations come as Massad Boulos’s plan to merge the east-west administrations - with Haftar as president and a Dbeibah family member as prime minister - faces backlash, with the GNU saying it cannot work with Saddam after the evidence surfaced.

The incident also jeopardizes the UN-sponsored 4+4 dialogue that had secured an agreement to hold elections within two years. Walid Ellafi, the GNU’s political affairs minister, reiterated support for the 4+4 framework, warning that elite deals ignore past grievances such as the displacement of thousands in Benghazi. The allegations may further inflame rivalry among Khalifa Haftar’s three sons, as Saddam’s brothers Khaled and Belqasim, aligned with Egypt, have begun to contest his dominance.