Haftar and Turkey Trade Threats as Libya’s War Risks Escalation
- Haftar airforce chief said Turkish sites ‘legitimate’ targets
- Tripoli government says Haftar received jets from Russia base
Khalifa Haftar
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Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar raised the prospect of a dangerous new escalation in the North African country’s war with a threat to target Turkish forces backing the internationally recognized government, prompting Ankara to warn it would retaliate.
The chief of Haftar’s air force, Saqr Al-Jaroushi, vowed to unleash the “largest aerial campaign in Libyan history” with all Turkish positions now “legitimate targets for our air force.” The comments came as the head of security in the Tripoli administration said officials received information that several Soviet-era jets had arrived in Haftar’s eastern stronghold from a Russian base in Syria.