Turkish terrorism in Libya: Indiscriminate bombing and transfer of coronavirus

Mustafa Kamel

The sending of mercenaries to Libya by Ankara – to support the Al-Wefaq government militias in Tripoli against the Libyan National Army forces led by Field Marshal Khalifa – is a regular matter, without paying attention to the loud voices of the need to stop this in light of the outbreak of the pandemic of coronavirus.

This comes especially since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exploited the global state of silence in the air and maritime movements in the indiscriminate shelling of drones, without adhering to the calls of the international armistice.

Breach of international calls

Ankara renewed the use of its drones to support Al-Wefaq militia, as it launched raids against Libyan National Army targets in the city of Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli. Also, shelling targeted an ambulance near the city of Bin Walid on the night of Saturday, 11 April 2020, killing the driver.

This is the fifth time that the Turkish planes targeted the city of Bani Walid which resulted in casualties, in addition to bombing an air base in western Libya, which also resulted in the martyrdom of a number of the Libyan National Army forces.

Turkish terrorism does not stop

The shelling did not stop when targeting ambulances, but the homes of the safe citizens had a share of Turkish terrorism, as pro-Turkish militias targeted homes in the capital, Tripoli.

The Department of Security of the Four Areas, which was split in April 2019 by the Al-Wefaq government, said that the militias are continuing their crimes by targeting civilians and bombing their homes in Tripoli.

This comes at a time when the military council of the Libyan city of Nalut (affiliated to the Al-Wefaq militia in Tripoli) announced the withdrawal of all its battalions and armed men, which consisted of 7 battalions, and controlled the 450-km border points with Tunisia from all border points and security posts near the strip.

This decision came two weeks after the Libyan National Army took control of areas near the Tunisian border, such as Zliten, Jameel and Rikdalin in western Libya, after fierce battles with the Al-Wefaq forces, which would provide the opportunity for the Libyan National Army to take advantage of the vacuum. The militia withdrawal will leave it from its positions to advance and control the border line between Libya and Tunisia.

A strong response

The Libyan National Army forces responded to the repeated Turkish aggressions, as air defense platforms spotted a Turkish plane that was trying to raid the city of Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli, before it succeeded in shooting it down.

This comes in addition to dropping another march that attempted to bomb the posts of the National Army in the area of ​​Warsfana in Al-Aziziya in addition to targeting militia gatherings and their mechanisms in Al Rahba Camp in Tajoura and Sorman Reserve.

Mercenary crowd

Ankara continued to send new batches of volunteering Syrian mercenaries in the supported factions, headed by the factions of Al-Mu’tasim Brigade, Sultan Murad Brigade, Northern Falcons Brigade, Hamzat, and Suleiman Shah and to throw them into Libyan territory to stand alongside Al-Wefaq militia against the National Army forces Al-Libi.

In spite of the dangers that the World Health Organization mentioned about the outbreak of coronavirus and the halting of global air traffic from one country to another, Turkey – which has thousands of people infected with the virus – flooded Libyan lands with more mercenaries, bringing the number of those who went to Libya by nearly 5,000 of mercenaries.

The General Command of the Libyan National Army monitored two flights between the Turkish Istanbul airport and the airports of the city of Misurata and Mutaiga in the capital, Tripoli, despite the suspension of all flights, as part of the measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.