Libyan commander warns Turkey
text_fieldsMartial Khalifa Haftar, the general commander of Libyan National Army (LNA), cautioned on Thursday to use force against Turkish troops if Ankara doesn't stop interfering in the war-stricken Libya.Khalifa Haftar's remarks was in response to the Turkish parliament's decision to extend for 18 months a law that allows the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya, according to AP.
"There will be no security or peace as long as the boots of the Turkish military are desecrating our immaculate soil. We will carry weapons to bring about peace with our own hands and our free will," said Haftar during a procession on the 69th Libyan Independence Day.
Though an UN-led cease-fire deal in Libya, declared in October, was still in effect, the Turkish lawmakers' pronouncement came on Tuesday. The truce intended the withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries within three months.
Haftar stressed that Turkey refuses to bring peace to Libya and that the imperial fantasies of the regime of Turkish President Recep Erdogan are over, and Libya's land will not be revived. Haftar is an ally of the eastern government, while Turkey has supported the Government of National Accord (GNA).
The warlord launched an attack last year in an attempt to capture the capital Tripoli from the GNA led by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj.
Haftar alleged that Turkey's insistence on war and the illusion is to achieve its illusions of expansion and to control the oil fields and then penetrate into the depths of Africa. The Libyan army also confirmed the monitoring of a large mobilization of the militias west of Misrata, a city in North-western Libya.