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Libyan National Army Destroys Plan to Build Turkish Base in Misrata

Forces loyal to the GNA are seen in Misrata, Libya. (Reuters)
Forces loyal to the GNA are seen in Misrata, Libya. (Reuters)
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Libyan National Army Destroys Plan to Build Turkish Base in Misrata

Forces loyal to the GNA are seen in Misrata, Libya. (Reuters)
Forces loyal to the GNA are seen in Misrata, Libya. (Reuters)

The Libyan National Army intensified Sunday its airstrikes against pro-Government of National Accord militias in Tripoli and Misrata.

In a statement, the LNA said that its raids destroyed a plan to build a Turkish base near the air force academy in Misrata.

“The construction of a military base for a foreign country such as Turkey with its poor history with the Libyan people is great treason against the independence of the nation,” it added.

The development is another crime committed by the Misrata militias and their backers, the Muslim Brotherhood, it stated.

The LNA will not tolerate such actions, it warned.

The army struck hangars used by Turkish drones, saying: “Misrata city’s contribution to the war effort against the operation to liberate Tripoli makes it a legitimate aerial target.”

The LNA had launched an operation to cleanse Tripoli of pro-GNA militias in April.

The army said Misrata will no longer be a target once it abandons its support to the militias.

Images circulated online showed a Turkish military base in Misrata that was housing drones. Sources said the facility, which was neutralized, was being set up as a possible permanent Turkish base similar to its positions in Syria.

Separately, the United Nations mission in Libya condemned on Sunday the LNA strikes against the airport of Zuwara, a town west of Tripoli.

“The mission renews its condemnation of the attacks conducted by the LNA forces against Zuwara airport, which cause serious damage,” it said, adding that the runway had been damaged.

Earlier this month, the LNA said it had twice bombed the airport, saying it had targeted hangars used by Turkish drones.

The UN mission said it had visited Zuwara airport and found no military infrastructure or assets.

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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

The United Nations Development Program is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support war-ravaged Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure and backing digital start-ups, its assistant secretary-general told Reuters.
Abdallah Dardari told Reuters in Damascus that investing in Syria - hit hard by 14 years of conflict that ended when former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted by a rebel offensive in December and fled the country - was seen as a "global public good."
"Our total plan for Syria over three years is $1.3 billion. This is not just a number, but a comprehensive strategy covering all support aspects," Dardari said. He said that help could include introducing artificial intelligence, setting up social protection programs and rebuilding infrastructure.
He said it would be crucial to mobilize funds from different sources including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as well as other countries in the region.
Since Assad was toppled last year after a nearly 14-year civil war, his successors have called on the international community to lift sanctions imposed against the country during his rule.
So far, most of those sanctions remain in place, with the United States and other Western countries saying the new authorities still need to demonstrate a commitment to peaceful and inclusive rule.
Syria has $563 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) at the IMF. But using the funds requires approval by IMF members holding 85% of the total votes, giving the United States, with 16.5% of the votes, an effective veto.
Syria's finance minister, central bank governor and foreign minister are planning on attending the spring meetings next week, Reuters reported earlier this month.
It would be the first visit to the meetings by a high-level Syrian government delegation in at least two decades, and the first high-level visit by Syria's new authorities to the US Assad's fall.
Washington has handed Syria a list of conditions which, if fulfilled, could lead to some sanctions relief, Reuters reported last month. Dardari said that sanctions remained "a considerable obstacle" to Syria's growth trajectory.
"Syria needs tens of billions of dollars in investments and in technical assistance and so on, and that cannot happen with such heavy sanctions imposed on the country," he said, calling for sanctions "to be lifted in a comprehensive manner." Dardari said UNDP had secured a sanctions exemption from the US Treasury to mobilize up to $50 million to repair the Deir Ali power plant south of Damascus.
Three sources familiar with the issue told Reuters the World Bank is exploring hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to improve Syria's electricity grid and support the public sector.
Syria's central bank governor Abdelkader Husrieh told Reuters that his country wanted to be compliant with global financial standards but that sanctions were still "blocking the economy from going forward".
"We want to be part of the international financial system and hope that the international community will help us to remove any obstacle to this integration," he said.