LIBYA'S United Nations-recognised government has accused military commander Khalifa Haftar of mounting a new coup after the renegade general claimed to have a "mandate from the people" to rule North Africa's leading oil producer. "It's a farce and the latest in a long series of coups d'etat," said the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in the capital, Tripoli,. "What the war criminal Haftar said was a coup on the democratic path, not new but a continuation of his failed coups and to cover up his repeated defeats," it added. Libya has been gripped by chaos since 2011 with rival administrations in the east and west vying for power. The conflict has caused oil production in the country to plunge from 1.5 million barrels per day to around 80,000 bpd. Haftar, who controls swaths of eastern Libya and in April last year launched an offensive to seize Tripoli, on 27 April said his army had "accepted the will of the people and its mandate".
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