Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar warned on Sunday that the forces of Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) and their supporters based in eastern Libya would be viewed as "legitimate targets" if they attempted to attack Turkish forces in the region.
Speaking during a visit to Turkish troops in Tripoli, Akar said Haftar's forces and his supporters would have "nowhere to run" if they attacked Turkish forces, adding they would become targets for Ankara "everywhere".
Turkey is the main foreign backer of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, which for years has been fighting the LNA.
During Independence Day celebrations on Thursday, Haftar called on his fighters to "drive out" Turkish forces backing the GNA.
"There will be no peace in the presence of a colonizer on our land," Haftar said before hundreds of soldiers on parade in a military barracks in the eastern port city of Benghazi..
"We will therefore take up arms again to fashion our peace with our own hands... and, since Turkey rejects peace and opts for war, prepare to drive out the occupier by faith, will and weapons," he added.
Haftar spoke after Ankara's parliament this week adopted a motion extending the deployment of soldiers in Libya by 18 months.
In October, the GNA and LNA signed a ceasefire agreement and the United Nations has been pushing a political dialogue aimed at elections next year as a solution.
