Turkish president’s announcement comes after Khalifa Haftar’s naval forces tow ship with Turkish crew off Libya’s coast.
Dec. 22, 2019
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey will increase its military support to the internationally recognised government of Libya if necessary, a day after the Turkish parliament ratified a security and military cooperation deal signed between Ankara and Tripoli last month.
“We will evaluate all kinds of military support including ground, marine and air options if necessary,” Erdogan said during a speech on Sunday in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.
Turkey backs Fayez al-Serraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, which has been torn by factional conflict since 2011, and has already sent military supplies to the GNA despite a United Nations arms embargo, according to a report by UN experts seen by Reuters last month.
Read more at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/haftar-forces-seize-ship-libya-coast-turkish-crew-191222105449299.html
Hafter’s Army Gives Libyan Militia Three-Day Deadline to Leave Tripoli
LNA threatens to attack key city of Misrata if militia doesn’t leave
Posted on Looking to end the 8-month stalemate in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, Gen. Khalifa Hafter, the head of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), has issued an ultimatum to the Misrata militia, one of the main allies of the Tripoli-based government, ordering them to leave in three days.
Specifically, the LNA wants the militia out of both Tripoli and the key port city of Sirte within the three days, and is threatening to attack Misrata directly if they don’t do so. With a lot of international allies on the fence about the LNA and the Government of National Accord (GNA), the Misrata militia has been the main fighting force backing the GNA.
The loss of the militia could sway the battle for Tripoli in the LNA’s favor, and the LNA’s international support, mostly from Egypt and the UAE, means they could try to launch airstrikes against Misrata if they don’t get their way.
Read more at https://news.antiwar.com/2019/12/20/hafters-army-gives-libyan-militia-three-day-deadline-to-leave-tripoli/
