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Libyan National Army Warns of Qatari, Turkish Moves in Tunisia

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya April 13, 2020. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya April 13, 2020. (Reuters)
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Libyan National Army Warns of Qatari, Turkish Moves in Tunisia

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya April 13, 2020. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya April 13, 2020. (Reuters)

The Libyan National Army (LNA) questioned a recent statement by the Turkish foreign ministry that threatened to attack the military should it target Ankara's interests in Libya.

LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said the Turkish statement is "misleading because Ankara has been fighting the army since 2014 through its proxies in Libya."

It wasn't up until recently that it became directly involved in the fight, he noted in televised remarks on Sunday.

On the ground, he revealed that the militias that are loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) have retreated somewhat in Tripoli, but they continue to amass their forces near the Okba Ibn Nafa Air Basein al-Watiya.

Mismari also expressed his concern over the growing number of Turkish and Qatari flights landing in regions close to Libyan-Tunisian border.

He said that the activity is part of efforts to set up an administration for the Turks, Qataris and Muslim Brotherhood that are allied with Rached al-Ghannouchi, the Tunisian parliament speaker and founder of the Islamist Ennahda party.

Separately, Mismari criticized the United Nations mission in Libya, accusing it of being biased towards the GNA.

He said the mission "sees and hears with one eye and one ear."

The mission had accused last week the LNA of striking civilian neighborhoods in Tripoli.

On the latest developments in the fighting, a prominent official in the LNA told Asharq Al-Awsat that the military has inched closer to capturing Tripoli.

He revealed that the forces have seized new areas in the southern suburbs of the capital and made progress in the Abou Slim district, forcing the militias to retreat to the Watiya.

The official refused to disclose further details, simply adding: "God willing the coming days will bring many good news."

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan will be the most pleased with them," he added sarcastically in reference to the Turkish leader's recent remarks that "good news" will come in from Libya after his forces recently offered military and logistic support to the GNA.

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.