...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...mobilized a large number of mercenaries in Libya’s port city of Misrata, Libyan National Army (LNA) front man Khaled al-Mahjoub told Al Arabiya on Sunday.
The LNA detected that Turkey sent approximately 19,000 mercenaries to fight alongside the GNA, al-Mahjoub added.
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Al-Mahjoub also stressed the LNA’s readiness for all possibilities in Sirte, after the
Sirte is a key coastal city in Libya, close to major energy export terminals on the Mediterranean seaboard.
The LNA, commanded by Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...
, and the GNA have been fighting for control of Libya, including Sirte. Clashes between both sides over Sirte have intensified since early June.
Al-Mahjoub had said previously that the possibility of an armed clash was unlikely despite the GNA’s movements.
He added in a statement to Al Arabiya that Turkey wouldn’t risk attacking and marching towards Sirte and Jufra after Egypt entered the equation.
Egypt, which backs the LNA, has threatened in June to intervene militarily in Libya if the GNA and
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi had said on June 20 that his country has a legitimate right to intervene in Libya and ordered the army to be prepared to carry out missions if necessary.
"If some people think that they can cross the Sirte-Jufra frontline, this is a red line for us," he said.