This declaration comes two days after the bellicose declarations of the strongman of eastern Libya against Ankara.
Le Monde avec AFP
Turkey will respond to any attack by the strongman of eastern Libya, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, against his forces in the warring country, said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar during a visit to Tripoli on Saturday 26 December.
“The war criminal, the murderer that is Haftar and his forces must know that they will be considered legitimate targets in case of attack against Turkish forces, “which support the government of national unity (GNA) in the conflict in Libya, said Akar. “If they take this step, they will not be able to find any place to flee. […] Everyone should come to their senses,” he added at a press conference, two days after belligerent statements Marshal against Ankara.
Turkish military support allowed pro-GNA forces to repel in June 2020 a pro-Haftar offensive launched in April 2019 to seize the capital Libyan, Tripoli. The GNA, which sits in Tripoli and is recognized by the UN, has controlled the entire northwest of the country ever since.
A ceasefire signed in October
On Thursday, Marshal Haftar called for the Turkish “occupier” to be driven out. There will be “no peace in the presence of a colonizer on our lands,” said the Libyan Marshal, supported by Russia and the United Arab Emirates. On the same day and on the occasion of the 69 th anniversary of the country’s independence, the head of the GNA, Fayez Al-Sarraj, called on his compatriots to “turn the page of disagreements in order to come to a stability “.
Despite the series of interlibyan talks to get the country out of the crisis, made possible by a ceasefire signed in October under the auspices of the UN and generally respected, bellicose declarations are on the increase.
On the first day of his visit to Tripoli on Saturday, the Turkish minister discussed with Libyan officials of the means to respond to a possible new offensive by Marshal Haftar, according to a statement from the High Council of State (HCE, pro-GNA). “What matters is that everyone contributes to a political solution. Any other action can only be bad,” Akar also said on Saturday evening.
The Turkish parliament adopted on Tuesday a motion extending for eighteen months the authorization to deploy soldiers in Libya, a country plunged into chaos since the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011.