The Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, said in an interview aired on Tuesday with Portuguese broadcaster RTP that Egypt's military support always goes for the national army in Libya, referring to the self-styled army of Khalifa Haftar's Dignity Operation militias.
"It is our country's priority to back up national armies, for example in Libya, to assert control over Libyan territories and deal with extremist elements." Al-Sisi said in the interview.
He also added that the same goes with Syria and Iraq, implying that he would always support dictators across the region.
Egypt has been a key ally for Khalifa Haftar self-proclaimed army since the start of his Dignity Operation in May 2014, giving him, along with the UAE, full military and logistic support, according to the audio leaks published by the British IHS Jane news website.
Relatedly, earlier this month, the New Arab published leaked information showing that before the Emirati military base was set up on the ground in Al-Marij city, eastern Libya, UAE’s jet fighters backing Haftar forces used to take off from bases in western Egypt.
The Egyptian Presidents has, for many times, spoken out his support for the renegade General Khalifa Haftar and his Dignity Operation upon desire to obtain some sort of power in eastern Libya.
Khlaifa Haftar, on the second hand, has always reiterated his allegiance to Egyptian army and President, Al-Sisi saying he would be in favor of Egypt even if that was against the Libyans' interest.
