A man holds a picture of General Khalifa Haftar during a demonstration in Benghazi. Photo: Reuters

Growing frustration over the reality of life in eastern Libya, which contrasts with the promises of politicians, is feeding support for a former army general, Khalifa Haftar, who has set himself up as a warrior against Islamist militancy and who some also see as their saviour.

The internationally recognised Prime Minister, Abdullah al-Thinni, and his government sit in the eastern town of Bayda, while a rival faction, Libya Dawn, has set up its own government in Tripoli, 1,200 km away, after taking over the capital last summer.

“I am tired of politicians just talking and talking,” said Raed, an oil service manager who has been demonstrating in front of Thinni’s office in Bayda. “Thinni is too weak to end this mess. We need a military council headed by Haftar.”

Haftar, who has merged his own troops with regular army forces to fight Islamist militants, is styling himself as a would-be strongman in the east.

But while his fighters have won back some territory from Islamists in Benghazi, Haftar is proving a divisive figure among those around Thinni, the parliament, and a federalist movement demanding autonomy for the east. Critics say Haftar, who did not respond to a request for an interview, sees himself as Libya’s version of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former military man.

Certainly, Haftar misses no opportunity to praise Sisi. His war planes joined Egyptian jets bombing suspected Islamic State targets in Libya this week after the jihadist group released a video showing the beheading of Egyptian Coptic Christians.

Haftar tends to pop up whenever there is upheaval in Libya. He helped Muammar Gaddafi to power in 1969 but fell out with him after a disastrous defeat suffered by troops he was commanding during Libya’s war with Chad in the 1980s. He was rescued with the help of the US and lived there until he joined the uprising against Gaddafi in 2011.

Now Haftar’s top air force officer, Saqer al-Joroushi, has been put in command of the regular air force with the support of his son, a member of the eastern parliament. The regular army is now calling itself the “Libyan National Army”, a name already in use by Haftar’s troops.

“I don’t like Haftar. But only he is a military man, and a military council, can save Libya,” said a protester outside Thinni’s office in Bayda.