LNA forces shoot down two Turkish drones in Sirte

LONDON - The Libyan National Army (LNA) announced on Thursday that it downed two Turkish-made drones over the strategic city of Sirte, dealing a blow to Ankara’s threats.

LNA officer Mahmoud Al-Marghani said that Turkey flew a drone from one of its bases in Misrata towards the city of Sirte to target Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar’s positions.

 “The air defense targeted the plane before it reached any Libyan National Army site, and it was shot down near the western coast of the city of Sirte,” said Marghani.

LNA’s Media Centre of the Al-Karama Operations Room announced early Thursday morning the shooting down of a second Turkish unmanned aircraft at Sirte’s borders.

Sirte, some 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, had been held since 2016 by forces allied with the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

In Januray 2020, the LNA forces seized the coastal city of Sirte from factions loyal to the Tripoli government.

Egypt's parliament gave President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi the green light for possible military intervention in Libya by approving the deployment of armed forces abroad to fight "terrorist groups" and "militias".

A sharp military escalation in Libya, where fighters led by Haftar have been battling the forces of the internationally recognised government, could risk igniting a direct conflict among the foreign powers that have poured in weapons and fighters in violation of an arms embargo.

Ankara supports the GNA with thousands of mercenaries, weapons and drones in the conflict against Haftar’s forces.