Khalifa Haftar, one of the most divisive figures in post-revolutionary Libya, was appointed army commander for the country’s internationally recognised government yesterday in a move that could complicate UN peace talks.

Four years after Muammar Gaddafi’s demise, Libya is mired in a conflict pitting the recognised government against a rival administration set up by an armed faction known as Libya Dawn that seized the capital, Tripoli, last summer.

Responding to Haftar’s appointment, the Tripoli government denounced the former Gaddafi ally as a “war criminal” and said his promotion would further exacerbate a power struggle that threatens to tear the country apart.

“The House of Representatives has appointed General Khalifa Belqasem Haftar as top military commander,” said Tarek Saqer Juroushi, deputy head of the defence committee at Libya’s elected Parliament. He said Haftar had been promoted to Lieutenant General, adding he would be sworn in today or tomorrow.

Last year, Haftar began a self-declared war against Islamist militants

Haftar originally helped Gaddafi come to power but fell out with him in the 1980s and then joined the 2011 revolution against him. The Tripoli-based government views Haftar’s reemergence as a sign that the old guard is gaining strength. Last year, Haftar began a self-declared war against Islamist militants in Benghazi, Libya’s second biggest city. He gained support from some Libyans tired of their country’s chaos, but also drew criticism over air strikes and attacks on civilian airports and sea ports.

“Khalifa Haftar for us is a war criminal and therefore, of course, this measure will add to the escalation and complicate things,” Omar Hmaidan, spokesman for the former parliament, which was reinstated by Tripoli’s new rulers.

Haftar has merged his irregular forces with army troops in the east to fight disparate Islamist groups.

But Haftar has also targeted forces loyal to the Libya Dawn armed faction. The United Nations is trying to organise peace talks between the rival administrations to defuse the conflict in the oil-producing North African nation. Representatives from both factions had been meeting for talks, but the House of Representatives recently suspended its participation.

Meanwhile rockets hit residential areas in Libya’s Benghazi late on Sunday, killing at least two people and wounding more than 30 others in continued fighting over the city, officials said. Libyan military official Fadil Hassi said two people were killed and 30 wounded when at least two rockets hit downtown Benghazi.