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Bogged down near Tripoli, Haftar’s militia now seek to take on Turkey, too

Tuesday, 10 December 2019 7:13 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 10 December 2019 7:19 PM ]

A file photo of renegade Libyan general Khalifa Haftar

A commander with Libyan militia groups headed by renegade general Khalifa Haftar says he has “orders” to destroy any Turkish vessel near war-torn Libya, hours after Turkey and the internationally-recognized government of Libya began implementing agreements on maritime boundaries and military cooperation.

Since 2014, Libya has been divided between two rival camps: one based in the eastern city of Tobruk, and the other — the internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj — in the capital Tripoli.

Haftar and his militia supposedly fight for the east-based camp.

Last month, Ankara and the Libyan government signed agreements on maritime boundaries and military cooperation, which took effect over the weekend after receiving the approval of the Turkish parliament and the Libyan presidential council.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara could deploy troops in Libya if the Tripoli government requested such support, noting that “after the signing of the security agreement, there is no hurdle.”

Hours later and in an interview with Greece’s ALPHA TV, Faraj al-Mahdawi, a militia commander under Haftar, said he had “orders to sink any Turkish research vessel” that would approach the shores of Libya.

“I have an order… as soon as the Turkish research vessels arrive, I will have a solution. I will sink them myself. I have this order from Haftar,” said Mahdawi, who is a keen supporter of Haftar.

Greece irate as Turkey, Libya enforce maritime, military accords

Turkey and Libya start implementing agreements on maritime boundaries and security and military cooperation, drawing an angry reaction from Greece.

There was no immediate reaction from Ankara.

In April, Haftar launched an offensive to capture Tripoli. Despite intense fighting, Haftar’s militia groups have failed to achieve their orders.

Earlier in the week, Mahdawi, who studied in Greece’s Naval Academy in the 1970s, wrote on his Facebook account in Greek, “We will liberate the capital, Tripoli, and destroy the Turkish dream.”

The maritime deal has also angered Greece, which slammed it as an “infringement on its sovereignty” that could complicate Athens’ decades-old disputes with Ankara over Cyprus and maritime rights in the Aegean Sea. Athens gave Libyan Ambassador to Athens Mohamed Younis A.B. Menfi 72 hours to leave the country.

Erdogan denounced Greece’s decision to expel the Libyan envoy as an “international scandal” and warned that Athens would “pay the price for its actions internationally.”

Libya plunged into chaos in 2011, when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his execution by unruly fighters.

Sarraj’s government has been attempting to establish order.

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