Turkish envoy denies lies on Daesh transfer to Libya

TUNIS

Turkish Ambassador to Tunisia Omer Faruk Dogan has denied a Tunisian news report accusing Ankara of sending Daesh terrorists to the Libyan capital Tripoli from Syria.

In a statement, Dogan described the report by private newspaper Al-Chourouk as "lies".

The source "did not verify the authenticity of the information which was built on false statements,” the diplomat stressed in the statement.

The Tunisian daily cited statements by Ahmad al-Mesmari, a spokesman for East Libya-based forces, in which he claimed that there were "open lines" to provide weapons and fighters from Turkey and Malta to the Tripoli-based government.

"The baseless allegations do not serve peace in the region, nor the Tunisian-Turkish relations, but weaken them, especially at a time the entire region needs solidarity," Dogan said.

The Turkish envoy warned that such false news "leads to mislead the Tunisian public opinion, to which we attach a great importance".

"Turkey has always defended the stability of Libya, which it considers a brotherly country like Tunisia, with both Turkey shares a common culture and history," he said.

"Turkey has always maintained close ties with Libya and that political dialogue is the solution," the diplomat stressed.

Dogan went on to voice Turkey's hope for reaching "a political settlement to the Libyan crisis as soon as possible, with the need to maintain the country’s unity and stability."

"Turkey also defends the unity of Syria and Iraq, and all countries that see conflicts," Dogan said.

Earlier this month, Khalifa Haftar, who commands forces loyal to Libya’s eastern-based government, embarked on an ambitious campaign to capture Tripoli, where Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is headquartered.

On Monday, the GNA said at least 76 people, including 24 civilians, had been killed since clashes erupted in the surroundings of Tripoli.

Since the 2011 ouster of late strongman Muammar Gaddafi, two seats of power have emerged Libya: one in eastern Libya, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN’s recognition.

* Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg