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Libyan National Army head Haftar declares JIHAD to ‘confront & expel’ Turkish troops
General Khalifa Haftar has warned that his Libyan National Army (LNA) forces will mobilize to repel any foreign soldiers sent to Libya, after Turkey approved a troop deployment to assist the rival government in Tripoli.
The general vowed to “confront and expel” foreign forces in a statement on Friday, singling out Ankara by name.
“We declare jihad and general mobilization to counter the Turkish invasion,” Haftar said. “The Turkish friendly people must rise up against the adventurers who force their army to be wiped out in Libya.”
Also on rt.com Turkish parliament backs govt plan to send troops to Libya in emergency session
The Turkish parliament on Thursday gave the go-ahead for deploying soldiers to reinforce its allies in the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), one of the factions vying for control of Libya since the 2011 ouster of leader Muammar Gaddafi in a US-led NATO operation.
Ankara expressed hopes, however, that the deployment would be unnecessary and that Haftar would halt his months-long offensive on Tripoli, launched in April 2019.
Also on rt.com Imperial delusion: Turkey sending troops to Libya would be no solution to the chaos caused by the 2011 NATO intervention
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