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Turkey’s chief diplomat Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that military preparations had been made to seize Libya’s city of Sirte and Jufra air base if forces linked to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar did not withdraw from both areas.

Turkish foreign minister said Ankara and the GNA want the eastern commander to abide by the 2015 Libyan political agreement.

Cavusoglu said in an interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber that the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) wanted to drive Haftar’s forces out of Sirte and Jufra, and had Ankara’s support.

“There are preparations for an operation but we are trying the [negotiation] table. If there is no withdrawal, there is already a military preparation, they (GNA) will show all determination here,” Cavusoglu said.

The foreign minister, according to middleeasteye.net, said Turkey and the GNA wanted Haftar to abide by the Libyan political agreement signed in 2015, which left the city of Sirte and the district of Jufra in the hands of the government.

“Of course the GNA doesn’t want a ceasefire without these places because Haftar is not sincere,” he added. “He is trying to buy some time while making preparations to attack Misrata and Tripoli. And he doesn’t offer anything meaningful for the political path.”

Cavusoglu vowed that Haftar would witness the same military decisiveness in Sirte and Jufra as was seen in the GNA offensive launched in May, which forced Haftar’s forces to cede territory.

Turkey recently said that the political route could not succeed with Haftar, saying there was a need for a replacement that could uphold promises.

Many observers in Ankara believe Haftar and his backers, including Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), want a ceasefire to momentarily freeze the conflict, regroup and later ignite a second wave of fighting to push back into GNA territory in the west.

Despite a UN weapons embargo on Libya, Turkey signed a military cooperation deal with the GNA and had sent drones, armoured vehicles, Syrian mercenaries and military officers to support the government, which had been struggling to fight off Haftar’s offensive to capture the capital.

Then GNA won a series of victories against Haftar’s so-called Libyan National Army, including the seizure of the strategic air base al-Watiya, which has seen the eastern commander’s yearlong offensive in western Libya crumble.

Neighbouring Egypt declared last month that Sirte and Jufra were a red line that should not be crossed and threatened to take action.

According to an online medium, about three hundred and fifty six soldiers of the Nigerian Army are unceremoniously exiting their career as soldiers as a result of what a military source said was a broken morale in the country’s armed forces.
Recall that even as the Nigerian Army are engaged in security of the country, Insurgency and terrorism have assumed a threatening dimension I’m the country as the soldiers have continued to show lack of zeal to fight, having been facing deaths in their numbers.
Many of the soldiers are among the troops engaged in the decade-long war against Boko Haram in the Northeast, while others are from various other formations across the country.

But apart from the 356 who are leaving for losing interest in the army, 24 others are exiting because they want “to take traditional title,” making a total of 380 soldiers, including two Master Warrant Officers and 28 Warrant Officers, voluntarily discharging from the army, according to sources with direct knowledge of the development.

Already, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has, this July, approved the voluntary discharge of all the 380 soldiers who are to proceed on terminal leave on December 20 and disengage on January 3 next year in accordance with Nigerian Army Administrative Policy and Procedure 27 Paragraphs 3 and 4, our sources confirmed

“That the reason given by most of them is ‘loss of interest’ is an indication of low morale in the army due to poor leadership,” one army insider said, claiming the army had been “broken, demoralised and polarised more than ever before under Buratai.”

“It is an indication of the rot in the system,” said another officer who knew about the mass disengagement.

More than those enduring the long official process to exit the army, many soldiers have deserted the army especially from among the troops combating Boko Haram in the Northeast,” sources in the frontline said.

At various times, commanders and soldiers have appeared in videos complaining about logistical support and equipment available to them to combat the terrorists in a war that has in ten years precipitated a humongous humanitarian disaster in the Lake Chad region, displacing millions of people and killing thousands.

In one case, a former commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Olusegun Adeniyi, appeared in a rare video admitting soldiers were outgunned by the terrorists. In that video, March this year, Adeniyi could be seen among disorganised troops decrying losses of men and equipment in a particular encounter with Boko Haram, who were “facing us” from “every flank with not less than15 gun trucks.”

Another online medium said on Tuesday, troops of 25 Brigade on patrol were ambushed by terrorists on Damboa-Maiduguri Road. 
In the ensuing fight, 37 soldiers were killed in action “about 60” unaccounted for, according to security sources briefed following the losses, which also included nine gun trucks.

“Tempers were rising amongst the troops of 25 Task Force Brigade,” a source in the frontline said after the attack on Tuesday, before “the efforts to calm the situation.”

However, the military officially told the public only two soldiers died, while 17 terrorists were killed.

“That official press release is a total lie to preempt the press,” one army source said.

The spokesperson for the army, Musa Sagir, denied claim of low morale in the army. “The Nigerian Army is in very high morale,” he said.