The French Africa Report news website said that Haftar's move near the Algerian border was to provoke Algeria and a message to international actors involved in the Libyan dispute that he is still a critical player in this conflict.

The website indicated that despite the announcement made by pro-Haftar media that an Algerian border post had been captured, nothing of the sort has been confirmed on the ground.

It also drew attention to the timing of Haftar's move, as it came ahead of the Berlin 2 conference, which was meant to find a solution to the Libyan dispute, and as the country is preparing for the 24 December presidential election.

On 19 June, a militia affiliated with Khalifa Haftar claimed that they had captured the crossing border with Algeria and declared the area a military zone, in which movement was strictly forbidden.

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