UPDATE - Libyan warlord will ‘disappear’ if support ends: Turkey

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY DEFENSE MINISTER

By Ahmet Sertan Usul

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“As the support behind him is withdrawn, lifted, Haftar will certainly disappear there,” Hulusi Akar told a news channel A Haber.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, Akar noted that the country is in the region upon the request of Libyan government, and provides military training, cooperation and advisors to the Libyan army.

Stating that following Turkey’s support, things turned in favor of Fayez al-Sarraj’s government and added: “There is no possibility for Haftar, who is unjust and putschist, to be successful there with the illegitimate support he receives over his unjust demands and activities.”

Speaking on how long Haftar forces can continue attacks in the country, he said Haftar has never been a power by itself in Libya.

“He [Haftar] has been there as a means that is controlled by some powers behind it,” he noted.

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

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.

- Anti-terror operation in northern Iraq

Touching on Turkey’s anti-terror operation in northern Iraq, Akar said an intensive fight is ongoing.

“A total of 431 terrorists have been neutralized since Jan. 1, 2020,” Akar said, adding that over 16,800 terrorists have been neutralized in the operation that is underway since 2015.

He also added that the number of terrorists surrendering to security forces has increased, while the number of those joining the terror group decreased.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

PKK terrorists often take shelter in northern Iraq to plan cross-border terrorist attacks in Turkey.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

* Writing by Sena Guler