Forces loyal to Libyan eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar on Sunday claimed they had killed 16 Turkish soldiers in Libya in recent weeks, reported Reuters.
Turkey deployed Syrian soldiers along with some of its own soldiers and weapons to help the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) to repel an attempt by the LNA to capture the city. The eastern LNA forces led by General Haftar have been fighting an offensive against the GNA since April last year.
Khalid al-Mahjoub, a spokesman for Haftar’s self-styled Libya National Army (LNA), said the soldiers were killed in the port city of Misrata, in battles in Tripoli and in the town of al-Falah south of the capital.
Haftar’s forces are backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Russian mercenaries.
The announcement comes after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged on Saturday that the country has lost some Turkish soldiers in Libya’s struggle.
“We are there (in Libya) with our (Turkish) soldiers and our teams from the Syrian National Army. We continue the struggle there. We have several martyrs. In return, however, we neutralized nearly a hundred (of Haftar’s) legionaries,” Erdogan said.
Turkish President Erdogan also met Fayez al Sarraj, head of Libya’s UN-recognized GNA in Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, on Thursday. The leaders held a closed-door meeting.
Last week, a joint military commission representing the GNA and Haftar’s forces had started a second round of talks in Geneva. The GNA pulled out on Wednesday after repeated ceasefire violations by Haftar’s forces, including an attack on Tripoli’s port that killed three civilians and injured five others.
On Friday, Haftar listed his conditions for a ceasefire in Libya. The conditions were the withdrawal of Syria and Turkish mercenaries from Libya and stopping supplies of weapons by Turkey to Tripoli and the liquidation of terrorist groups. He warned that he might use his forces if his conditions for a ceasefire were not met.
