Libyan putschist general Khalifa Haftar, who launched an offensive last year to capture the capital Tripoli from the UN-recognized government led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, on Thursday threatened to use force against Turkish troops if Ankara does not stop supporting the legitimate government in the war-torn North African country.
The warlord’s Haftar’s comments came in response to the Turkish parliament’s decision to extend an 18-month law allowing the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya. Turkish military assistance to the Tripoli-based National Accord Government (GNA) – including advisers, equipment and intelligence – helped stop Haftar’s annual attacks on the capital.
“There will be no security or peace as long as the boots of the Turkish military desecrate our immaculate land,” Haftar said in comments from his eastern stronghold, Benghazi, on the 69th anniversary of Libya’s independence day. We will carry weapons to create peace with our own hands and our free will. ”
Libya went into chaos after the 2011 uprising that drove out and killed the long-serving dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Since 2015, Libya has been divided between two governments, one in the east and one in the west. The Western government is known as the National Accord Government and is officially recognized by the UN
The decision by Turkish lawmakers came on Tuesday, despite a UN-brokered ceasefire in Libya declared in October. In the ceasefire agreement, the alien was planned by foreign forces and mercenaries within three months.
“The colonizing enemy has one of two choices: either to leave peacefully or to be expelled by force,” Haftar said, referring to Turkey.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) seized the same national opportunity to call on Libya’s rivals to observe the ceasefire and respect a political roadmap that foresees national elections to be held in December 2021.
“While urging Libyans to consolidate their efforts and take courageous steps towards national reconciliation and look forward to a bright future for all Libyans to live in peace and prosperity, it reaffirms its full commitment to helping the Libyan people build their united state,” he said. said a statement from UNSMIL on Thursday.
Earlier this month, 75 Libyan politicians from opposing camps practically gathered in a UN-initiated political forum and agreed to hold elections next year. However, they failed to break the deadlock of the transitional electoral mechanism that would lead the country to the vote.
“A tough ceasefire continues to be maintained in Libya between forces allied with the Tripoli-based government and their rivals in the east,” said a commentary published on Thursday by the International Crisis Group. The conflict could end abruptly.
Throughout its campaign to capture Tripoli, which collapsed in June, Haftar had the support of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, France and Russia. A report by UN experts has said that Russia has supported Haftar’s forces with military equipment and private armed agents. In addition to Turkey, the Tripoli government has had the support of Italy and Qatar.
