The Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of turning Libya into a launchpad for terrorist attacks on neighboring states.
Turkey's president “wants to turn Libya into a launchpad for terrorist and criminal attacks on neighboring countries, mainly Egypt,” LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmari said.
“Erdogan continues to send mercenaries to Libya. But we won’t tolerate the presence of foreign troops on Libyan soil,” he warned.
The Turkish president was swift to reply, saying he had turned the events in Libya after they were in Haftar’s favor.
The war of words came as the Libyan capital's only working airport was hit by rocket fire Thursday, aviation officials said.
Flights to and from Mitiga International Airport were suspended for more than four hours.
The Government of National Accord (GNA), which is backed by Turkey, blamed the strike on Haftar’s forces.
The UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL) reported "repeated bombings over the past two days" targeting Mitiga, in a Twitter post.
It said such violations of the ceasefire that went into effect on January 12 take place at a time when the Libyans and the UN are working hard to end the fighting, resolve Libya’s crisis and put an end to the people’s suffering which is getting worse by the day.
