Violence escalates in Libya following Turkey pledge

Fighting has escalated in Libya as warplanes bombed targets in Tripoli and two other cities shortly after the UN-backed government in the capital announced on Thursday that it was deepening military co-operation with Turkey.

Forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, the Libyan strongman who has been trying since April to seize Tripoli, the seat of the UN-backed government, have given militias defending the city a three-day deadline to pull out.

Gen Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army threatened on Friday that unless militias from the city of Misurata left Tripoli by midnight on Sunday, their own city would continue to be targeted “in an unprecedentedly intensive way”.

The LNA ultimatum came after a night of air strikes against targets in Tripoli, Misurata and Sirte. Ahmed al-Mismari, spokesman for the LNA, said they bombed sites used to store Turkish supplied weapons and that the strikes were in response to Thursday’s announcement by the UN-backed Government of National Accord that it was “activating” its recently concluded military accord with Turkey.

In the past the LNA has avoided targeting the self governing city of Misurata, whose militia emerged as a formidable fighting force from the armed Libyan rebellion of 2011 that ended the rule of strongman Muammer Gaddafi. Misuratan forces supported by US air strikes also expelled Isis from Sirte, further east on Libya’s coastline, in 2017.

The GNA accused a pro-LNA “foreign air force” of carrying out the bombings and said they resulted in civilian casualties. It did not specify which country was involved.

Turkey signed a military agreement with the GNA in November that included provisions on intelligence-sharing, arms supply and the prospect of creating a “quick reaction force” for the Libyan military and police. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, has said repeatedly in recent weeks that he would be willing to send military assistance to Tripoli if the government formally requested it

The conflict in Libya has turned into a proxy war with foreign governments lining up behind each of the warring sides. While Turkey is a main backer of the GNA, supplying drones and armoured vehicles, Gen Haftar has been supported by Egypt, the UAE, France and Russia.

The UAE has provided sophisticated drones while allegedly Russian private security forces from the Wagner Group have been fighting alongside Gen Haftar’s men. UN officials say it is highly likely that foreign warplanes have been flying bombing missions for the LNA.

Cairo has been vocal in its rejection of the GNA accord with Turkey. Russia, which backs Gen Haftar, on Friday warned against any Turkish military involvement in Libya. Moscow will host a Turkish delegation in the coming days to discuss the situation.

“Of course [we are concerned],” a foreign ministry source told local news wire Interfax. “Foreign military intervention will only deteriorate the situation as long as the conflict remains unsettled.”

But Mr Erdogan said on Friday that it was not right for his country “to remain silent” about the Russian mercenaries, according to NTV, a Turkish broadcaster.

Mr Erdogan’s Libya envoy, Emrullah Isler, said on Thursday that his country was not planning to dispatch combat troops but it could send military personnel to provide training and support.

The LNA offensive to seize Tripoli has been mostly at stalemate for the past eight months, although in recent weeks there has been some intensification of the fighting after a build-up of Russian mercenaries fighting alongside Gen Haftar’s forces.

“This is tit for tat with no endgame in sight, and the complacency of the West is always inviting more escalation on the part of Haftar and his foreign backers,” said Jalel Harchaoui, research fellow at the Clingendael Institute think-tank at The Hague.

Despite the calls for a ceasefire from western governments, analysts say there has been no genuine international pressure on Gen Haftar to pull back from the outskirts of Tripoli or return to his base in eastern Libya.

The Libya-Turkey military deal has also raised concerns in Brussels and other European capitals.

A European Commission spokesperson warned that there was “no military solution” to the conflict in Libya and said “every member of the United Nations” needed to respect the UN arms embargo on the country.

In Germany, where the government is working with the UN to organise a conference on Libya, the foreign ministry said: “The Berlin process we’re working on is designed to achieve a ceasefire and to ensure that all parties observe the arms embargo. These two things are absolutely essential in order to facilitate talks under the aegis of the United Nations to bring peace to Libya.”

Additional reporting by Michael Peel in Brussels, Davide Ghiglione in Rome, Guy Chazan in Berlin and Henry Foy in Moscow