Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter announced on Tuesday he is running for president in upcoming United Nations-backed elections, pledging to “begin the path of reconciliation" after more than a decade of turmoil and civil war. 

"I declare my candidacy for the presidential election, not because I am chasing power but because I want to lead our people towards glory, progress and prosperity," Hifter said in a televised address. 

Libya has been engulfed in chaos since the NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich North African country was then ruled by two administrations, each supported by foreign backers including Russia and Turkey that flooded Libya with illegal arms and mercenaries.

Hifter commanded the eastern-based Libyan National Army, which fought the UN-recognized Government of National Accord based in Tripoli for six years before an October 2020 cease-fire ended the heaviest fighting and called for the withdrawal of foreign fighters. An interim government consisting of a prime minister and three-member presidential council took power in March and is meant to prepare the country for nationwide elections in late December.