Bangkok Post

Erdogan says two Turkish troops killed

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ISTANBUL: President Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday two Turkish troops were killed in Libya where they back the internatio­nally-recognised government in the north African state’s conflict, adding allied Syrians are honoured to fight there too.

Turkey has been providing military support to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which has been trying to fend off an offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces to the east. Last year the two sides signed a military cooperatio­n deal and Turkey has since sent troops and allied Syrian fighters there.

Ankara has so far stressed its forces were not fighting in Libya but rather providing coordinati­on to the GNA. Mr Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey had “several martyrs” in Libya, and yesterday he clarified two had died.

“We have two martyrs of ours there [Libya],” Mr Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara, repeating there were also fighters from the Syrian National Army working with Turkish personnel. The Syrian National Army is a Turkeyback­ed rebel group fighting against pro-Damascus forces in northern Syria.

“Those going from Syria, from the Syrian National Army there have a common goal. They are there within the framework of these common goals .... Our brothers who are with us in Syria see being there with us as an honour,” Mr Erdogan added.

On Sunday, Gen Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) said they had killed 16 Turkish soldiers in recent weeks.

Since the deployment of Turkish soldiers and sophistica­ted equipment to the GNA, the LNA has lost some of its gains. The LNA is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia.

At a summit in Berlin last month, world powers agreed that hostilitie­s must stop in Libya while a political process takes place.

Ankara has since accused Gen Haftar of violating the ceasefire, saying its guarantees regarding a United Nations arms embargo to Libya were dependent on a durable truce.

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