Why is Sirte everyone’s ‘red line’ in Libya?
Libya’s coastal city of Sirte, a strategic gateway to major oil facilities, has emerged as a critical point of contention between Turkey and Russia, with France also scrambling to impede Turkey via NATO.
The fast-paced advance of the Turkish-backed Tripoli forces in Libya has stalled at the key coastal city of Sirte as Russia’s role in the conflict has grown more assertive, heralding a tough bargaining between Ankara and Moscow.
Turkish drones, which helped turn the tide in favor of the Government of National Accord, have run into a range of constraints as government troops moved farther from Tripoli in pursuit of Khalifa Hifter’s Libyan National Army. On the Hifter side, meanwhile, drones provided by the United Arab Emirates have been joined by Russian MiG-29 jets as Russia appears to be trying to impede any advance to Sirte.
