Libyan Crisis

Turkey calls on NATO to once again intervene in Libya
By
News Desk -
2020-05-16 0

BEIRUT, LEBANON (7:20 P.M.) – Turkey issued a strong condemnation of the Libyan National Army (LNA) leader, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, accusing him of intensifying attacks on civilians.

The statement also called on NATO to intervene in order to stop the Libyan National Army and its supporters, especially Egypt, the UAE and France.

“Haftar and his supporters have become more aggressive by launching attacks targeting civilians,” he said, considering that it was similar to what he described as “the Syrian regime’s aggression against its people.” .

“They are targeting civilians, including hospitals. Why this aggression?! Because they are beginning to lose their edge in the field,” the Foreign Ministry said.

They stressed that Turkey “believes that the only solution in Libya is the political one, and for that it seeks to achieve a ceasefire there.”

“In the next stage, Haftar must be stopped,” they continued. “Those supporting it must be stopped. NATO should play an important role in this regard.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cawushoglu said, “Egypt and the UAE, along with France, clearly support Haftar,” adding that “French hostility to Turkey has increased after the Peace Spring operation in northern Syria,” which was launched on October 9, 2019 against Kurdish forces, whom Ankara considers terrorists.

Turkey is the largest external supporter of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), a political entity that is recognized by the United Nations.

GarryB wrote:Rather small drones are difficult to spot at longer ranges let alone hit... I suspect if the primary threat is drones then they probably use cannon fire more than missiles...

The irony is that the vehicle itself is the expensive component... the missiles themselves are relatively cheap and could be fired off in large numbers without costing too much.

Another Turkish aircraft is shot down by Libyan Army forces near Tunisian border

BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:30 A.M.) – The Libyan army announced on Saturday that they shot down another Turkish aircraft in the vicinity of the strategic Al-Watiyah Airbase west of the capital, Tripoli, along the Tunisian border.

The Libyan Army’s “Military Information Division” said, “The Libyan Arab Armed Forces air defense platforms targeted an Anka-S Turkish drone, which is dubbed “the Phoenix” and it was shot down on the outskirts of the Uqba ibn Nafi Base – Al-Watiyah Airbase.”

The official spokesman for the Libyan Army , Major General Ahmed Al-Mesmari, said in an interview with Sputnik Arabic that the Turkish forces are on the ground in Libya and that many Turkish officers and soldiers were killed in the Libyan capital recently.

Meanwhile, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar denied that there were deaths among the Turkish forces in Libya , and said that “the Turkish armed forces will continue to do what must be done in Libya, within the framework of supporting legitimacy.”

The Turkish Army is currently providing direct support to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), who is at war with the Libyan National Army.

Despite calls for a nationwide ceasefire by the United Nations, the war in Libya has continued to rage in northwestern part of the country, as the Turkish-backed forces rejected the proposal from the commander of the LNA, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to have a month-long ceasefire in order to observe Ramadan

Isos wrote:GNA captured an air base and at least one pantsir inside. Russia won't let US put their habds on it. Time to blow up the base with some of the su-34 in Syria.

magnumcromagnon wrote:

Isos wrote:GNA captured an air base and at least one pantsir inside. Russia won't let US put their habds on it. Time to blow up the base with some of the su-34 in Syria.

]https://i.servimg.com/u/f71/19/35/56/92/eysgl510.jpg[/img]

The US has already had their hands on Pantsirs through the U.A.E., we also know that the U.A.E. was more than happy to supply RPG-32's to ISIS/ISIL in Yemen. Russia should reevaluate it's relationship with UAE, and the other GCC oil-banana republics....if their not openly waging war against Russian interests in the Middle East, they're doing other shit.

d_taddei2 wrote:It's seems Turkey has lost quite a few drones in last couple of months does anyone know the cost of these drones?  Must be starting to cost Turkey some $ for all these losses

Thanks garryb for info. although i still think the shilka with upgrades + manpad upgrades of Igla-S or verba would still useful and cheap. a sort of a poorer version of tunkuska or pantsir. as u stated verba and igla-S would take out drones the guns just like tunkuska etc is a secondary weapon. And with Libya not having huge amounts of money to spend on AD equipment i think its a cheap alternative. and can still be used to attack ground targets if needed. strelets armed with Igla-S and verba also good system but lacks the gun. and as mention zu-23-2 with radar and manpad upgrades still able to attack drones, and 2-2.5km effective range still not bad for the cost and coud make a difference between losing troops or not.

And the mention of Turkish drones missiles range etc of course that's if they notice the shilka before shilka spots the drone.  

If Turkey is going to increase drone attacks then haftar needs more air defence and cheap air defence. But agreed mig-21 with Intel should be targeting sites.  

Bad news about the pantsir it's been a key asset for taking out Turkish drones.  Haftar needs air and ground assistance Intel isn't enough now.

ultimatewarrior wrote:A big shift in dynamics when Russia prevented SAA from taking M4 highway by force. The freezing of the conflict in Idlib allowed Turkey to concentrate all the power and shift thousands of Syrian terrorists to Libya where they try to take Cairo and reestablish Ottoman. Big mistake by Putin. The rebirth of Ottoman will cause problem for Russia. Of course, this is precisely what the Americans want.

BTW a 10 day ban wasn't enough for you, a 10 year ban would of been better. They shouldn't throw you in jail, they should throw you underneath the jail. Razz

JohninMK wrote:The now Turkish owned Pantsir on its way to a new, unknown, home.

Perfect for defending a S-400  

[g]

magnumcromagnon wrote:

Isos wrote:GNA captured an air base and at least one pantsir inside. Russia won't let US put their habds on it. Time to blow up the base with some of the su-34 in Syria.

The US has already had their hands on Pantsirs through the U.A.E.