Libyan fighters seize town from Haftar’s forces

Forces allied to Libya’s internationally recognised government based in Tripoli captured sophisticated US and Chinese rockets as well as drones when they seized a town from eastern forces last week, officials said yesterday.On Wednesday, Tripoli’s forces took Gharyan, south of the capital, which eastern forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar had used as their main supply base to attack Tripoli, home to the recognised administration.UN reports have previously said that the UAE and Egypt have been arming Haftar’s Libya National Army (LNA) since 2014, but details have been unclear.Haftar began his assault on Tripoli on April 4, surprising the United Nations, which had been preparing for a national conference to try to end the chaos gripping Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.The offensive by the LNA, which is allied to a parallel administration in the east, has not made it beyond the southern suburbs of Tripoli.Turkey has supplied Tripoli’s forces with drones and other military equipment, according to diplomats.VOW TO ATTACK TURKISH ASSETSMeanwhile, Haftar has threatened to attack Turkish interests and accused Ankara of backing his rivals after he suffered a major setback in his push to take the capital Tripoli.Anti-Haftar forces that nominally back Libya’s internationally recognised government announced Wednesday they had retaken the strategic town of Gharyan in a surprise attack.Haftar yesterday promised a “tough response” and accused militias backing the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord of executing his wounded troops at the town’s hospital — allegations refuted by both the GNA and authorities in Gharyan.Dozens of pro-Haftar fighters were killed in the clashes some 100 kilometres  south of the capital, with at least 18 taken prisoner, a GNA spokesman said.AFP correspondents who toured Gharyan were shown signs of a hasty retreat by Haftar’s forces, who left behind their wounded, a command post, arms, ammunition and even food burning on stoves.“The speed (of the attack), the surprise element and the revolt (by the area’s residents) sowed fear” in the ranks of Haftar’s fighters, General Ahmad Bouchahma, a senior GNA officer, said during a tour of the area.In retaliation for the defeat, Haftar ordered his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) to target Turkish ships and companies, ban flights and arrest Turkish nationals in the country, his spokesman said.General Ahmed al-Mesmari accused Ankara of “directly” helping GNA forces “with its soldiers, planes and ships”. He also accused Gharyan residents of “treason”. The LNA, which holds eastern Libya and much of the country’s south, seized Gharyan two days before launching its offensive on Tripoli in early April.Its initial lightning advance was quickly brought to a standstill in Tripoli’s southern outskirts as GNA-aligned militias rushed to defend the capital.Both sides accuse each other of using foreign mercenaries and receiving military support from external powers, despite a UN arms embargo in place since the 2011 Nato-backed uprising.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed his country backs the GNA and provides weapons to it under a “military co-operation agreement”.He told reporters on June 19 that Turkish backing had allowed Tripoli to “rebalance” the fight against Haftar.Yesterday, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan, Erdogan said he had no information on Haftar’s threat against Turkish assets.