Libyan warlord will ‘disappear’ if support ends: Turkey

By Ferdi Turkten

ANKARA (AA) - Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar will “certainly disappear” if he loses support in the wake of multiple recent military defeats, said Turkey’s national defense minister on Wednesday.

“As the support behind him is withdrawn, lifted, Haftar will certainly disappear there,” Hulusi Akar told a news channel A Haber.

As Turkey stands against the putschist Haftar, it is aiding the Libyan government with military training, cooperation, and advisors, according to an earlier statement by Akar.

Turkey has long decried the illegal support given to Haftar by such countries as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Following the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya's new government was founded in 2015 under a political deal led by the UN.

The Libyan army has made significant military gains against Haftar's militias in recent days, capturing all the country's western cities to the Tunisian border.

Libya's internationally recognized government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.

*Writing by Sena Guler