This week, the president of the United States, Donald Trump spoke to the Libyan military commander, Khalifa Haftar, who is trying to overthrow the United Nations backed government, the White House said on Friday.

The statement said Trump “recognized Field Marshal Haftar’s significant role in fighting terrorism and securing Libya’s oil resources, and the two discussed a shared vision for Libya’s transition to a stable, democratic political system.”

The White House said they also discussed “ongoing counterterrorism efforts and the need to achieve peace and stability in Libya.”

It was unclear why the White House waited several days to announce the phone call.

On Thursday, both the United States and Russia said they could not support a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time.

Also on Thursday, mortar bombs crashed down on a suburb of Tripoli, almost hitting a clinic, after two weeks of an offensive by Haftar’s eastern troops on the Libyan capital, which is held by an internationally recognized government.

Trump arrived on Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, for the Easter weekend.

Haftar, seen by his allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as a bulwark against Islamists, backs a rival administration based in eastern Libya that is refusing to recognise the authority of the Tripoli government.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States did not give a reason for its decision not to support the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya. The country has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

Jalel Harchaoui, research fellow at the Clingendael Institute international relations think tank in The Hague, said the Trump phone call was tantamount to supporting Haftar’s operation and thus is “creating an environment where a military intervention by foreign states, like Egypt, is likelier.”

“One reason behind Trump’s phone call is that Haftar’s army has revealed itself less powerful than the Libyan strongman had claimed,” Harchaoui said.

Haftar was among officers who helped Colonel Muammar Gaddafi rise to power in 1969 but fell out with him during Libya’s war with Chad in the 1980s. Haftar was taken prisoner by the Chadians and had to be rescued by the CIA after having worked from Chad to overthrow Gaddafi.

He lived for around 20 years in the U.S. state of Virginia before returning home in 2011 to join other rebels in the uprising that ousted Gaddafi.</s>TRIPOLI - Several air strikes and explosions shook the Libyan capital Tripoli overnight, residents said, in an escalation of a two-week offensive by eastern forces on the city held by the internationally recognised government.

A Reuters reporter and several residents said they saw an aircraft circling for more than 10 minutes over the capital late on Saturday, and that it made a humming sound before opening fire on several areas.

An aircraft was heard again after midnight, circling for more than ten minutes before a heavy explosion shook the ground.

It was not clear whether an aircraft or unmanned drone was behind the strike, which triggered heavy anti-aircraft fire. Residents had reported drone strikes in recent days, but there has been no confirmation and explosions heard in the city centre this time were louder than in previous days.

Residents counted several missile strikes, one of which apparently hit a military camp of forces loyal to Tripoli in the Sabaa district in the south of the capital, scene of the heaviest fighting between the rival forces.

Authorities closed Tripoli’s only functioning airport, cutting air links to a city of an estimated 2.5 million residents. The airport in Misrata, a city 200 km to the east, remained open.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) force loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar started an offensive two weeks ago but has been unable to breach the government’s southern defenses.

If a drone strike was confirmed this would point to more sophisticated warfare. The LNA has so far mainly used ageing Soviet-made jets from the air force of Muammar Gaddafi, toppled in 2011, lacking precision firepower and helicopters, according to residents and military sources.

In the past the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have supported Haftar with air strikes during campaigns to take eastern Libya. Both countries flew air strikes on Tripoli in 2014 during a different conflict to help a Haftar-allied force, US officials said at the time.

Since 2014 the UAE and Egypt have provided the LNA with military equipment such as aircraft and helicopters, helping Haftar gain the upper hand in Libya’s eight-year conflict, UN reports have established.

The UAE even built an air base in Al Khadim in eastern Libya, one such report said in 2017.

The air strikes, which were also filmed by residents in video posted online, came after a day of heavy clashes in southern districts, with shelling audible in the city center.

The violence spiked after the White House said on Friday that US President Donald Trump spoke by telephone with Haftar earlier in the week.

The disclosure of the call and a US statement that it “recognised Field Marshal Haftar’s significant role in fighting terrorism and securing Libya’s oil resources” has boosted the commander’s supporters and enraged his opponents.

Western powers and the Gulf have been divided over a push by Haftar’s forces to seize Tripoli, undermining calls by the United Nations for a ceasefire.

Both sides claimed progress in southern Tripoli on Saturday, but no more details were immediately available.

A Reuters TV cameraman visiting the southern Khalat Furgan suburb heard heavy shelling but saw no apparent change in the frontline.

On Friday, two children were killed in shelling in southern Tripoli, residents said. The fighting has killed 227 people and wounded 1,128, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said before the air strikes.

On Thursday, both the United States and Russia said they could not support a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his LNA advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States did not give a reason for its decision not to support the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya.</s>Libya forces loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar clashed with pro-government fighters south of Tripoli Friday, after UN chief Antonio Guterres sought to avoid a flare-up at talks with the strongman.

Haftar on Thursday launched an offensive to take the capital, held by a UN-backed unity government and an array of militias.

The lightning assault was met with international appeals for restraint and the UN Security Council was holding an emergency meeting.

Guterres met Haftar in the eastern city of Benghazi at the end of a visit to the chaos-hit country, but neither his self-proclaimed Libyan National Army nor the UN gave details of the talks.

"I leave Libya with a deep concern and a heavy heart," Guterres said in a statement.

"I still hope it will be possible to avoid a bloody confrontation in Tripoli."

Shortly afterwards, LNA forces clashed with a pro-government alliance less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the capital, a unity government source said.

Haftar's press office confirmed there had been "violent fighting on the edge of Tripoli with armed militias".

LNA forces briefly took over the ruins of a destroyed airport but were driven out by fighters from the capital, government interior minister Fathi Bachagha told Libya's Al-Ahrar television station.

"The fighting is currently taking place in the Gasr Ben Ghechir region" south of the airport, he said.

LNA spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari said five fighters from his group had been killed in clashes over the past 24 hours, but insisted that it had made "an important step forward".

Earlier in the day LNA forces were pushed back from a key checkpoint less than 30 kilometres from the capital, checking their offensive.

Pro-government militiamen from the coastal town of Zawiya, west of Tripoli, retook the base after a "short exchange of fire", a source said on condition of anonymity.

The head of the UN-backed unity government, Fayez al-Sarraj, visited the checkpoint on Friday accompanied by military commanders.

'The time has come'

The Zawiya militia is one of dozens that have proliferated since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi and are variously aligned with Sarraj's government and a rival administration in the east backed by Haftar.

Most of the pro-Haftar fighters who briefly captured the checkpoint late on Thursday were rival militiamen from the town of Sabratha, further west along the Mediterranean coast.

Dozens of them were captured and their vehicles seized, the security source said.

The Tripoli Protection Force, an alliance of pro-government militias in the capital, said its fighters had taken part in the recapture of the checkpoint.

A convoy of vehicles from Haftar's forces on Thursday pushed towards the city of Gharyan, some 100 kilometres south of Tripoli on Thursday, witnesses and military sources said.

Haftar said "the time has come" to take Tripoli in an audio message released on Thursday, pledging to spare civilians and "state institutions".

Sarraj condemned the strongman's "escalation" and said he had ordered loyalist forces to prepare to "face all threats".

The announcement of the offensive came as Guterres was in Tripoli for talks with Sarraj ahead of a planned conference later this month on organising elections.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that despite the flare-up preparations were continuing for the April conference.

The United States and its allies issued a joint statement urging "all parties to immediately de-escalate tensions".

"At this sensitive moment in Libya's transition, military posturing and threats of unilateral action only risk propelling Libya back toward chaos," they said.

Russia called for "all possible efforts to fully resolve the situation with peaceful political means".

"We believe that the main thing is for any actions not to lead to renewed bloodshed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Analysts say the advance by Haftar's forces comes at a key moment as the UN bids to get elections back on track after an abortive effort last year.

"The risk of a flare-up has increased," said Jalel Harchaoui, a researcher at Clingendael Institute in The Hague.

"Capturing Tripoli... remains a possibility" for Haftar, with the support he receives from Saudi Arabia and its allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, he said.

Haftar held talks in Riyadh late last month and his forces have reportedly received major arms deliveries from the UAE, including aircraft, despite a UN embargo.

They already overran most of the remote oil fields and oasis cities of the desert south during an offensive earlier this year.

The government's writ is now largely confined to the narrow coastal strip around Tripoli and third city Misrata to its east.</s>The UN special envoy to Libya announced on Saturday there would be no delay to the UN-backed conference planned for a week from Sunday despite the ongoing fighting.

"We are determined" to hold the talks "unless major circumstances prevent us", UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame said at a press conference in Tripoli, Libya's capital.

Libyan forces under Khalifa Haftar, commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), launched an offensive on Thursday to take Tripoli.

The talks are scheduled to take place in Ghadames, in the southwestern part of the country from 14 to 16 April with elections on the agenda as a way to take Libya out of an eight-year crisis.

However, a political consultant to Haftar said that the road map of the Libyan National Congress will not see the light of day.

“And even if it results in a national government, it would be at the service of the political current of the armed militia and its decisions will not be applied in the other regions, and therefore we will commit again the same failure of the Skhirat agreement,” Faraj Zeidan, a political consultant to Colonel Khalifa Haftar told RFI in Arabic.

He cited the Libyan Political Agreement signed in Skhirat, Morocco, in December 2015 that recognized the Western-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) as the only legitimate government in Libya. The deal has since fallen apart after the Libyan House of Representatives withdrew its support of the GNA by voting against it in 2016. It is now only backed by a few national organs.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry with with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the ongoing crisis. Shoukry stressed that the issues at hand could not be solved through military means, but is still worried about the security situation there.

"Egypt has supported from the beginning a political agreement as a tool to prevent any military solution" in Libya, Shoukry said during a joint press conference.

Russia wants all of Libya's political forces to find an agreement, but warned against foreign meddling in Libya, said Lavrov.

Russia and Egypt have been supportive of Haftar.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven Nations countries announced at their meeting on Saturday agreed to put pressure on those who are behind the violent power struggle in the country, namely Haftar, in order to avoid a military escalation, said German foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

"We are agreed that we must use all the possibilities at our disposal to exert pressure on those responsible in Libya especially General Haftar, so that we avoid any further military escalation. We all agreed," Maas told reporters, adding that France and Italy, who had direct connections to the country, would put pressure on Libya.

"The situation is very worrying and we cannot accept a further military escalation," he said.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is lashing out at current and former aides who cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, insisting the deeply unflattering picture they painted of him and the White House was "total bullshit."

In a series of angry tweets from Palm Beach, Florida, Trump laced into those who, under oath, had shared with Mueller their accounts of how Trump tried numerous times to squash or influence the investigation and portrayed the White House as infected by a culture of lies, deceit and deception.

"Statements are made about me by certain people in the Crazy Mueller Report, in itself written by 18 Angry Democrat Trump Haters, which are fabricated & totally untrue," Trump wrote Friday, adding that some were "total bullshit & only given to make the other person look good (or me to look bad)."

The attacks were a dramatic departure from the upbeat public face the White House had put on it just 24 hours earlier, when Trump celebrated the report's findings as full exoneration and his counselor Kellyanne Conway called it "the best day" for Trump's team since his election. While the president, according to people close to him, did feel vindicated by the report, he also felt betrayed by those who had painted him in an unflattering light — even though they were speaking under oath and had been directed by the White House to cooperate fully with Mueller's team.

The reaction was not entirely surprising and had been something staffers feared in the days ahead of the report's release as they wondered how Mueller might portray their testimony and whether the report might damage their relationships with Trump.

While Mueller found no criminal evidence that Trump or his campaign aides colluded in Russian election meddling and did not recommend obstruction charges against the president, the 448-page report released Thursday nonetheless paints a damaging picture of the president, describing numerous cases where he discouraged witnesses from cooperating with prosecutors and prodded aides to mislead the public on his behalf to hamper the Russia probe he feared would cripple his presidency.

The accounts prompted Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who has sometimes clashed with Trump, to release a statement saying he was "sickened at the extent and pervasiveness of dishonesty and misdirection by individuals in the highest office of the land, including the President."

"Reading the report is a sobering revelation of how far we have strayed from the aspirations and principles of the founders," he said.

The report concluded that one reason Trump managed to stay out of trouble was that his "efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful ... largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests."

That didn't spare those who defied Trump's wishes from his wrath.

Trump appeared to be especially angry with former White House counsel Don McGahn, who sat with Mueller for about 30 hours of interviews, and is referenced numerous times in the report.

In one particularly vivid passage, Mueller recounts how Trump called McGahn twice at home and directed him to set in motion Mueller's firing. McGahn recoiled, packed up his office and threatened to resign, fearing the move would trigger a potential crisis akin to the Saturday Night Massacre of firings during the Watergate era.

In another section, Mueller details how Trump questioned McGahn's note-taking, telling the White House counsel that, "Lawyers don 't take notes" and that he'd "never had a lawyer who took notes."

"Watch out for people that take so-called "notes," when the notes never existed until needed," Trump said in one of his tweets Friday. Others whose contemporaneous notes were referenced in the report include former staff secretary Rob Porter and Reince Priebus, Trump's first chief of staff.

Trump ended his tweet with the word, "a..." suggesting more was coming. More than eight hours later, he finally completed his thought, calling the probe a "big, fat, waste of time, energy and money" and threatening investigators by saying, "It is now finally time to turn the tables and bring justice to some very sick and dangerous people who have committed very serious crimes, perhaps even Spying or Treason." There is no evidence of either.

Trump, who is in Florida for the Easter weekend, headed to his West Palm Beach golf club Friday after some early morning rain had cleared. There he played golf with conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh "and a couple friends," according to the White House.

He'll spend the rest of the weekend with family, friends and paying members of his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.

As Trump hopped off the steps from Air Force One on Thursday evening, he was greeted by a throng of supporters, who clamored for autographs and selfies. He repeatedly told the crowd "thank you everybody" as they yelled encouragement.

Ari Fleischer, who served as White House press secretary to former President George W. Bush, said in an appearance on Fox News that he didn't understand why Trump decided to send his tweets lashing out at former aides.

"I think it's over," he said. "If I were the president, I would have basically declared victory with the Mueller report and everything that came out and move beyond it."

Still, he said he hoped the White House had learned some lessons.

"The president and his entire team needs to realize how close they came to being charged with obstruction," Fleischer said. "Asking your staff to lie and engaging in some of the activities that the Mueller report stated the president engaged in is too close to obstruction. And that's a lesson I hope everybody at the White House takes with them going forward."</s>Image copyright Reuters Image caption On Friday Tripoli residents demonstrated against Gen Haftar's offensive

The White House says President Trump has spoken to Libyan eastern commander General Khalifa Haftar, whose forces are attacking the capital Tripoli.

During Monday's call, Mr Trump recognised Gen Haftar's efforts to combat terrorism and secure Libya's oil and they discussed Libya's future.

Tripoli is the seat of Libya's UN-backed and internationally recognised government.

Mr Trump's call suggests he endorses Gen Haftar, unlike some of his allies.

More than 200 people have been killed since the fighting began three weeks ago.

On Thursday the UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj condemned the "silence" of his international allies amid the assault by Gen Haftar's forces.

Libya has been torn by violence and political instability since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.

The latest crisis started three weeks ago, when Gen Haftar's eastern forces descended on the capital in what Mr Serraj has described as an attempted coup.

Gen Haftar's troops are advancing from various directions on the outskirts of the city and say they have seized Tripoli's international airport.

Does this mean Trump backs Haftar?

During Mr Trump's conversation with Gen Haftar, the pair "discussed a shared vision for Libya's transition to a stable, democratic political system", the White House says.

The BBC's Middle East Regional Editor Alan Johnston says the call seems to signal that Washington is swinging its weight behind Gen Haftar and may see him as being capable of restoring unity and order to the country.

But Gen Haftar's opponents say he would rule the country in a highly autocratic style, our correspondent adds.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Pro-government forces are fighting Gen Haftar's forces to the south of Tripoli

The US, along with Russia, has also refused to support a UK-drafted UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya.

Russia objected to wording blaming Gen Haftar for the violence while the US did not give a reason, Reuters reported.

Gen Haftar has had backing from the UAE and Egypt and visited Saudi Arabia shortly before announcing his attack on Tripoli.

The UN-backed government in Tripoli has also accused France of supporting Gen Haftar. France has denied this.

Reuters quoted Jalel Harchaoui from the Clingendael Institute in The Hague as saying that Mr Trump's call was tantamount to supporting Gen Haftar's campaign and made a military intervention by an outside state such as Egypt more likely.

Who supports the Tripoli government?

Former colonial power Italy backs the internationally-recognised government.

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has also said there is "no justification" for Gen Haftar's move on Tripoli.

On Friday Mr Hunt spoke to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the two agreed to "continue diplomatic efforts to achieve a freeze on the ground and a return to the political process", according to the state department.

Who is General Haftar?

A former army officer, he helped Colonel Gaddafi seize power in 1969 before falling out with him and going into exile in the US.

He returned in 2011 after the uprising against Gaddafi began and became a rebel commander.

After Gaddafi's fall he was appointed chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA) under an earlier UN-backed administration</s>The White House said on Friday that President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar and discussed "ongoing counterterrorism efforts" by the leader of a military assault on the capital of Libya in opposition to the country's internationally recognised government.

A White House statement said Trump "recognized Field Marshal Haftar’s significant role in fighting terrorism and securing Libya’s oil resources, and the two discussed a shared vision for Libya’s transition to a stable, democratic political system."

It was unclear why the White House waited several days to announce the phone call, which took place on Monday. Europe and the Gulf have been divided over a push to seize Tripoli by Haftar's eastern forces.

In Tripoli on Friday, shelling could be heard in southern parts of the city as in previous days, residents said. No more details were available immediately.

On Thursday, both the United States and Russia said they could not support a UN Security Council resolution tabled by the UK calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time.</s>Heavy clashes have broken out in the southern districts of the Libyan capital Tripoli, as the death toll from two weeks of fighting between the country's rival governments rose to 220.

The spike in violence happened after the White House said on Friday that President Donald Trump had spoken by phone earlier in the week with Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, who started an offensive against Tripoli on April 3.

The disclosure of the call and a US statement that it "recognised Field Marshal Haftar's significant role in fighting terrorism and securing Libya's oil resources" has boosted the commander's supporters and enraged his opponents.

Western powers and the Gulf have been divided over a push by Haftar's forces to seize Tripoli, undermining calls by the United Nations for a ceasefire.

Despite the offensive, Haftar's Libya National Army (LNA) force has not been able to breach the southern defences of forces allied to the internationally recognised administration based in the city.

On Saturday, shelling was louder and more frequent on Saturday than in previous days and audible even in central districts more than 10km away from the frontline, residents said.

Both sides claimed progress in southern Tripoli, but no more details were immediately available.

A Reuters TV cameraman visiting the southern Khalat Furgan suburb heard heavy shelling but saw no apparent major change in the front line.

On Friday, two children were killed in shelling in southern Tripoli, residents said. The fighting has killed 220 people and wounded 1066, the World Heath Organisation said.

It was unclear why the White House waited several days to announce Monday's phone call.

On Friday, Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said "a military solution is not what Libya needs".

He said he supported Haftar's "role in counterterroism" and that Washington needed Haftar's "support in building democratic stability there in the region".

On Thursday, both the US and Russia said they could not support a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his LNA advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The US did not give a reason for its decision not to support the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya.

The country has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

As the Tripoli battle continued, municipal elections took place in seven towns, mainly in the south, the election commission said.

The vote is part of elections for local councils across Libya. Security differs from region to region as the country is controlled by rival governments, tribesmen and armed groups.

In western Libya polls in several communities had been postponed a week ago because of the fighting.</s>Some 205 have been killed and 913 have been wounded in the ongoing battle for Libyan capital Tripoli, says the World Health Organization

TRIPOLI, Libya – At least 205 people have been killed and more than 900 wounded in the battle for control of the Libyan capital Tripoli, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday, April 18.

Fighting broke out on April 4 when military strongman Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to take Tripoli, seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

Reporting at least 205 people dead and 913 wounded, WHO said it was keeping medical and surgical teams deployed at field hospitals near the front lines.

More than 25,000 people have been displaced by the clashes between GNA forces and Haftar's fighters south of Tripoli, including 4,500 over the previous 24 hours, the International Organization for Migration said Wednesday. (READ: Clashes rage in Libya despite U.N. truce call)

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said it was the highest single-day increase in displacement. – Rappler.com</s>The UN's Libya envoy warned Thursday of "a widening conflagration" in the North African country, saying international divisions had encouraged strongman Khalifa Haftar to launch his assault on Tripoli.

But for now, Ghassan Salame told AFP in an exclusive interview, there was "deadlock" in fighting south of the capital between Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) and the internationally recognised government.

"After the very first successes of the Libyan National Army two weeks ago, we are witnessing a military deadlock," he said.

Fighting broke out on April 4 when Haftar and his LNA, based in the country's east, launched an offensive to take Tripoli, the western seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

Haftar's offensive forced the UN to postpone a national conference that was to draw up a roadmap to elections in a bid to turn the page on years of chaos since the 2011 ouster of Moamer Kadhafi.

The fighting has so far left at least 205 people dead and more than 900 wounded, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

More than 25,000 people have been displaced by the clashes, the International Organization for Migration said the previous day.

Salame told AFP that international divisions had "encouraged" Haftar, who is backed by Russia and seen by his allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as a bulwark against Islamists.

The UN Security Council was divided Wednesday on how to address the crisis in Libya after fresh negotiations on a draft resolution demanding a ceasefire in Tripoli failed to yield agreement.

Russia has sought to block any language that criticised Haftar's offensive as a threat to Libya's stability.

Germany, which holds the council presidency, called for an urgent meeting after Tripoli witnessed heavy fighting.

The council was due to meet Thursday to hear a briefing on the situation on the ground and "consult on the way forward," according to a note sent by German diplomats and seen by AFP.
The White House says President Donald Trump has spoken to Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar about recent developments in Libya. During the call, Trump recognised Haftar's efforts to combat Islamic terrorism and secure Libya's oil reserves.