Eastern Commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) has warned the Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Serraj against transporting weapons using civilian planes, adding that it will strike down any such plane that carries weapons, reported Reuters.
“The civilian status of aircraft is revoked as soon as they are used for military purposes,” LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari told Reuters.
The warning comes after the LNA monitored a Boeing 747-412 that had flown from Istanbul to Libya carrying military equipment.
In a video released on Sunday, Mismari said that the LNA has extended an ultimatum it had given forces in Misrata aligned with the internationally recognized Government of National Accord based in Tripoli. The forces now have until Wednesday midnight to withdraw from the city instead of Sunday. He ensured that the LNA would not target withdrawing forces.
Haftar’s LNA has been trying to take Tripoli from the GNA since April this year. Fighting has so far left thousands dead or injured, with more than 120,000 civilians displaced.
On Saturday, the Eastern Libyan forces seized a Grenada-flagged ship with Turkish crew members off the Libyan coast amid rising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean over a contentious maritime border deal involving Tripoli and Ankara.
The development comes as Turkey announced its backing for Libya’s U.N.-supported government. Turkey’s parliament has approved a security agreement with Tripoli, allowing Turkey to provide military training and equipment at Tripoli’s request, further angering the east-based administration.
“We will evaluate all kinds of military support including ground, marine and air options if necessary,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a speech on Sunday in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.
Erdogan said Turkey will “absolutely” not turn back from its agreements with Libya.
Haftar’s forces have received support from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan and Saudi Arabia and Russia.
