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| Africa North |
| Libya frees nine Turks detained by army |
| 2014-11-15 |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Libya on Friday released nine Turks who had been captured by the army and handed them over to representatives from Ankara, a government statement said. The men had been captured by troops in the embattled eastern city of Benghazi, where former general Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... has launched an offensive against Islamist Death Eaters. A statement from the internationally recognized government said the men were freed in response to a request by the U.N. mission in Libya (UNSMIL). They were handed over to Turkey in an operation monitored by UNSMIL chief Bernardino Leon, the statement said. In June, more than 400 Turks were evacuated from Libya following threats by Haftar, who accuses Ankara of backing his Islamist opponents. Most of those evacuated had been working at a power station in the city of Sirte, home town of slain dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse... . A front man for Haftar, Mohammed Hijazi, said "the army released the Turkish nationals after making sure that they were not involved" in fighting that has rocked Benghazi almost daily since May. Haftar launched an initial offensive against Islamists in Libya's second city in May with no government support, but in October, with Islamist militia influence growing, he launched a new campaign, this time backed by government troops. Three years after Qadaffy was toppled and killed in a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... -backed revolt, Libya is awash with weapons and powerful militias, and run by rival governments and parliaments. Also on Friday, Libya's rival government said it had seized an Airbus A300 at an airport in the oasis town of Ghadames, southwest of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , because it was carrying "suspicious cargo". A statement said that seven crew members -- three Russians, two Ukrainians and two Tajiks -- were also detained. A front man for the internationally recognized government, which is based in the east, told AFP the aircraft was carrying "humanitarian aid" for southwestern regions of Libya. |
| Posted by:Fred |