Tripoli/Ankara: Eastern Libyan forces loyal commander Khalifa Haftar said they destroyed a Turkish drone parked at Tripoli’s only working airport on Sunday and declared a “general mobilisation” as tensions between Ankara and the eastern administration mounted.
Haftar’s forces said they hit the drone in an air strike on Mitiga airport, part of a series of measures meant to punish Turkey for its support of the rival, internationally recognised Libyan government in Tripoli. The airport closed after the strike but later reopened, according to its website.
They also said they had arrested two Turks in the northeastern oil town of Ajdabiya.
Later Aguila Saleh, head of the eastern-based House of Representatives allied to Haftar, declared a general mobilisation, a spokesman said. No more details were immediately available.
Turkey’s foreign minister earlier accused Haftar’s supporters of arresting six of its citizens, and warned that the eastern forces would become a “legitimate target” if the Turks were not released immediately.
Haftar’s Libyan National Force (LNA) launched a campaign on April 4 to try seize the Libyan capital — but has been pushed back by the Tripoli government’s forces which are supported by Turkey.
Haftar and his backers say they are trying to free Tripoli from militias that they accuse of destabilising Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
Haftar’s critics including Turkey accuse him of trying to seize power from the legitimate government through force and deepening a conflict between factions based in the east and west of the sprawling North African country.
Haftar’s administration cut all ties with Turkey on Friday, banning its flights and ships from eastern Libya.
It upped those measures on Sunday by declaring Turkish firms, imports and even symbols illegal.
