Haftar forces seize control of Libyan coastal city
BENGHAZI, Libya: Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar’s forces Monday seized the coastal city of Sirte from factions loyal to the Tripoli government, raising tensions as Turkey said it was deploying troops in the North African country.
Sirte, some 450 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli, had been held since 2016 by forces allied with the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
But on Monday, a spokesman for Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) said the city had fallen to his fighters within hours.
“Sirte has been totally liberated,” Ahmad al-Mesmari announced on television.
“The operation was quick and lasted only three hours,” Mesmari said, although preparations had started months earlier with air strikes on positions of pro-GNA forces.
He said Haftar loyalists struck from five land and sea positions and had air cover. He did not give further details.
The GNA did not immediately confirm the fall of Sirte, but a pro-GNA military commander in the city, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the loss.
The oil-rich North African country has been plunged into chaos since the 2011 NATObacked uprising that killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
It is now divided between the GNA based in the capital Tripoli and Haftar’s forces in the east and which also control most of the country’s south.
Tensions escalated last year when Haftar launched an operation in January to “purge” southern Libya “of terrorist groups and criminals” and seized several towns with support from local tribes.
Haftar then set his eyes on Tripoli, launching an offensive on the capital in April to unseat the GNA.
The GNA has sought help from Turkey, whose parliament passed a bill allowing the government to send troops to Libya to shore up the Tripoli government.
On Sunday, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his soldiers had begun deploying in Libya.
Although there has been no immediate confirmation from Tripoli of that deployment, Turkey’s involvement has raised concern among Libya’s neighbours and in Europe. — AFP
Sirte has been totally liberated. The operation was quick and lasted only three hours.
Ahmad al-Mesmari