Eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Hifter has vowed to fight Turkey’s forces as the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli is poised to press its counteroffensive against the key coastal city of Sirte with Ankara’s military support.
In an Eid al-Adha address to his forces over the weekend, Hifter — who is launching an insurgency backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, France and Russia — likened Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s military support for the GNA in Libya to colonial occupation, accusing Erdogan of “coming to Libya in search of his ancestors’ legacy,” Saudi Arabia-based Arab News reported.
