Stung by a series of defeats this week, Libyan commander threatens to target Turkish forces
Samer Khalil Al-Atrush and Selcan Hacaoglu
Haftar has been stung by defeats over the past week at the hands of the Tripoli government, effectively foiling his year-long offensive to capture the capital. The strongman’s self-styled Libyan National Army, that is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russian mercenaries, was dislodged from a key airbase on Monday and is encircled in one of its few remaining bastions in the country’s west.
Turkey has also sent surface-to-air missile defence systems to Libya that have given it an edge over armed drones operated by the UAE, Western and Libyan officials have told Bloomberg. An aerial campaign by Haftar’s forces would first have to neutralise air defences that had effectively ended strikes on the capital since January.
Fathi Bashagha, the security chief in Tripoli, said at least six MiG 29s and two Sukhoi 24s had flown into the east from the Russian-controlled Hmeimim Air Base in Syria, escorted by two SU-35 Russian air force jets. It was not clear whether those were refurbished jets that had belonged to Haftar’s air force or additions to his fleet.
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