McClatchy quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Karim Mezran on the offensive against Islamist militias in Libya by a renegade local general:
“It is an escalation,” said Karim Mezran, a Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow for the Atlantic Council, who specializes on Libya.
Both sides bring their own advantages to the evolving battlefield. Hifter’s offensive is going against Islamists, especially Ansar al Shariah, the militia blamed in Stevens’ death, who for the last two years have controlled large swathes of the country and have conducted scores of assassinations and assaults.