The Coordination of Free Forces in Niger, a rebel group, denied reports regarding the release of the leader of the National Liberation Front, Mahmoud Salah, who was arrested on February 23 in the Al-Gatroon area in southern Libya.
The group said that Salah remains imprisoned under the guard of Haftar’s forces in the city of Benghazi, according to a statement published by the Senegalese website Sud Quotidien.
It is worth noting that the Italian news agency Nova had previously reported, citing unnamed Libyan sources, that Khalifa Haftar had released Mahmoud Salah.
According to Nova sources, French President Emmanuel Macron had asked Haftar, during their meeting at the Élysée Palace on February 26, not to hand Salah over to the military council in Niamey, which the international community considers illegitimate since it overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum in the July 26, 2023 coup.
Relations between Niger’s military authorities and Haftar have strengthened in recent months. This was evident during Nigerien Interior Minister Mohamed Boubacar Toumba’s visit to Benghazi last August, which concluded with the reactivation of bilateral security agreements.
Previously, Haftar had sent his son, Saddam, as a special envoy to Niger’s transitional president, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, in September. On the other hand, Libya’s Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Mohamed Al-Haddad, visited Niamey, where he agreed with Nigerien authorities to strengthen their efforts to combat armed groups operating along their shared borders.
