Elders and Dignitaries Council of Tajoura has lashed out at the "dubious role of the UNSMIL" regarding the Libyan crisis, condemning its support for "war criminal" Khalifa Haftar.

In a statement on Sunday, the council condemned the UNSMIL's support for "military coup" and its efforts to advocate for Haftar, whom they described as the one who shed Libyans' blood in different stages starting from 1969 coup to 2014 and afterwards.

"We denounce the violation of the UNSMIL of local laws by dealing with illegitimate parties disregarding the Libyan judiciary, UN Security Council's resolutions as it tries to impose parties which don't recognize Skhiart-signed Libyan Political Agreement, which was signed by the UN envoy as well." The statement reads.

It adds that UNSMIL's violations included dealing with UAE, Egypt and others which were proved by UN Sanctions Committee reports as part of the Libyan conflict and part of the crisis prolongation.

"We call on the UNSMIL to clarify its stance as it backs up a US citizen in violation of the local and international law, especially that the deputy head of the UNSMIL is also a US citizen." The statement further adds, calling on the USNMIL as well to probe International Criminal Court's accusations of fighters under Haftar's command for crimes in Benghazi and Haftar's accountability as commander.

"There's no positive role for the UNSMIL in Libya nowadays given the fact that it has succumbed to foreign dictations." The council indicated, adding that over the eight past years, it has done nothing toward the building of a civilian state.

The statement also called on Libyans to take the initiative for their own country in order to hinder the ongoing attempts of certain parties and countries to prolong the conflict and destroy the hopes of a Libyan civilian state.