Turkey threatens to respond to any attack on its forces in Libya
Turkey threatens to respond to any attack on its forces in Libya
On Thursday, Khalifa Haftar called for the Turkish occupier to be "driven out" of Libya
Turkey will respond to any attack by the forces of eastern Libya,Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, against his forces in the war-fighting country, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said during a visit to Tripoli.
"The war criminal, the murderer Haftar and his forces must know that they will be considered legitimate targets in the event of an attack on Turkish forces" that support the Government of National Unity (GNA) in the conflict in Libya, the minister said late on Saturday, two days after the marshal's bellicose statements against Ankara.
Big Arm Contest
"If they take this step, they won't be able to find any place to flee everyone should come to their senses," he said at a press conference. Turkish military support allowed pro-GNA forces to repel and defeat a pro-Haftar offensive launched in April 2019 to seize the Libyan capital Tripoli in June 2020. The GNA, based in Tripoli and recognized by the UN,controls from all the north-west of the country.
On Thursday, Khalifa Haftar called for the Turkish occupier to be "hunted down." There will be "no peace in the presence of a colonizer on our land," said the Libyan marshal supported him by Russia and the United Arab Emirates. On the same day, on the 69th anniversary of the country's independence, GNA leader Fayez al-Sarraj called on his countrymen to "turn the page on disagreements to achieve stability."
In search of a political solution more than warlike
Despite the multitude of rounds of inter-Libya talks to get the country out of the crisis, made possible by a ceasefire signed in October under the aegis of the United Nations and generally respected, belligerent declarations are multiplying. On the first day of his visit to Tripoli on Saturday, the Turkish minister discussed with Libyan officials how to respond to a possible new Haftar offensive, according to a statement from the pro-GNA High Council of State (HCE).
"What matters is that everyone contributes to a political solution. Any other action can only be bad," he said on Saturday night. Turkey's parliament on Tuesday passed a motion extending by 18 months the authorization to deploy "military personnel" to Libya, a country plunged into chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
Source:- Flash News and News Agencies