2020: Libya responds to Erdogan’s thuggery and his mercenaries’ terror

Shaimaa Yahya

Since 2011, the situation in Libya has not been stable, and it has been in a fluctuating state between setbacks, wars and interventions from various parties, which allowed the militants of terrorist militias to take control of the country, integrate them within the joints of the state, and spread their weapons on a large scale. This made the North African country, which is burdened with conflicts, easy prey for exacerbating political, security and economic crises.

At the end of 2020, Libya witnessed the utmost economic poverty, which was left by repeated terrorist operations. It incurred losses of about $492 million annually, according to the index issued by the Australian Institute of Economics and Peace in cooperation with the American Union for the Study of Terrorism at the University of Maryland.

Libya ranked sixth in the Arab world in the list of countries with terrorist activity for the year 2020, and in contrast, the government treasury lost about $4.9 billion over the past 12 years, while 1,923 attacks were counted that resulted in 1,876 deaths, in addition to material losses in infrastructure.

Libya a year ago

It was an eventful year in the fight against terrorism on the Libyan lands, as the Libyan National Army (LNA) did not hesitate to confront the extremist militias and mercenaries whom Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed to complete his fascist plans and blatant interventions in the region. The LNA inflicted heavy losses upon them after it fought strong battles and cleansed and restored security throughout the country, as well as securing oil areas and strategic sites.

At the beginning of 2020, the LNA entered the former ISIS stronghold in the coastal city of Sirte, located 450 kilometers east of Tripoli, and on January 6, the LNA imposed its control over the airport of Al-Qardabiya base, which changed the course of affairs, and it subsequently opened the largest and most important cities in support of terrorist militias, most notably Buqrin, Al-Heisha, and Al-Wasika, east of Misrata, which contains two sea and air ports that are used to bring weapons and mercenaries from Turkey.

The LNA Air Force targeted a number of sanctuaries for terrorist militias in all the axes of the capital, including sites for storing weapons, ammunition and vehicles, and a transport bus containing a number of Syrian mercenaries was targeted while transporting them from the Maitika military base, killing 16 Turkish soldiers participating in the operations in Libya, in addition to 105 mercenaries brought by Ankara.

Consecutive losses

The defeats of the terrorist militia continued throughout, and in February, the losses reached more than 370 people, including 130 of different nationalities, most of them Syrians, in addition to more than 470 wounded, most of them from extremist elements of African and Syrian nationalities, in addition to the destruction of more than 180 armed vehicles aand downing more than 40 Turkish drones.

In March, the air force and artillery targeted several Turkish sites, including radars and missile systems east of Misrata and Mitiga airport, in addition to targeting a number of leaders of terrorist organizations, Syrian mercenaries loyal to Turkey, and terrorists fleeing Benghazi in Tripoli. The LNA managed to take control of the headquarters of the Fourth Brigade of the Juwaili militia, one of the largest camps in southwestern Tripoli and Bab Al-Aziziyah.

With the passage of a few days, the LNA had completely controlled the situation in the city of Tarhuna and Ain Zara after violent battles with the militias, and 36 mercenaries were taken as prisoners, including field commanders, while dozens of them were killed.

Pursuit of Turkish weapons

The Turkish president will never cease to ignite the war in Libya and his endeavor to achieve his strategic goals inside the region by broadcasting mercenaries and continuing to push weapons in strategic areas. In return, the LNA pursued those mercenaries and their weapons and tried to destroy them by striking them, which resulted in losses.

In May, the LNA carried out a qualitative operation east of Tripoli against Turkish mercenaries it called the “Ababil Birds”, which resulted in the destruction of a Turkish weapons shipment in the city of Misrata, the destruction of Zakhira and weapons stores, seizing a number of armed cars, and killing a number of militia members, in addition to targeting the centers of the Brotherhood-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) militias in the Tajoura region and the headquarters of the Rahba militia, which resulted in the killing of more than 40 militants.

The LNA’s successes in standing up to terrorism and ridding the country of mercenaries and militias continue.

In June, the LNA Air Force bombed a convoy of Turkish militias west of the city of Sirte at the axis of Al-Wasaka and completely destroyed it, in addition to destroying many air defense systems that are operated by Turkish officers.

Conclusion

At the end of this busy year, the LNA managed to arrest seven terrorists in a qualitative operation, while targeting one of the hideouts of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in the Ubari region in the southwest of the country, and confiscating large quantities of ammunition, weapons and dangerous documents.

Just recently, the LNA succeeded in taking control of the Commando camp, one of the most important pillars of the GNA militias in the Ubari area, after it was preparing to use it in the attack on the oil fields in southern Libya.