Besieged Airbase Shows Turkey Turning the Tide in Libya’s War

  • Haftar has suffered a string of losses over the past month
  • Commander’s backers in UAE and Egypt unlikely to stand down

A soldier stands next to the Turkish flag.

Photographer: Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images
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A full-throttled military intervention by Turkey could have turned the tide in Libya’s civil war, in a striking development that’s gone largely unnoticed by a world marshaling resources to fight the coronavirus.

With Ankara providing the firepower, the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli is poised to gain the upper hand against an eastern military commander backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Russian mercenaries.