TRIPOLI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The east-based army of Libya said on Monday they had captured the coastal city of Sirte, some 450 km east of the capital Tripoli, from the forces of the rival UN-backed government.
Ahmad al-Mismari, spokesman of the east-based Libyan National Army, announced the "liberation" of Sirte at a press conference in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Mismari also said the whole operation to control Sirte took no more than three hours, stressing that the operation was confidential.
FINAL BATTLE AGAINST CAPITAL
The announcement came as the east-based forces were launching the "final" battle to take Tripoli, which is controlled by the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
Last month, Khalifa Haftar, commander of the east-based army, declared the launch of the final military campaign in and around the capital.
"Today, we declare the final battle and advancement into the heart of the capital," Haftar said in a televised speech on the local TV channel Libya Al-Hadath.
On Thursday, the east-based army announced that it had killed more than 20 members of the UN-backed government forces in south of Tripoli, one day after the UN-backed Libyan government's forces said they had captured 25 soldiers of the east-based army, bringing the total number of east-based army soldiers it captured in a week to more than 50.
Haftar's army has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli since early April, trying to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government.
Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, and more than 120,000 people fled their homes from the violence.
TURKEY'S PLEDGE
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday evening that Turkey is "gradually" sending troops to Libya under a deal inked with the GNA.
"Our soldiers are gradually going," Erdogan told the CNNTurk broadcaster in a televised interview, saying that "the duty of Turkish soldiers is to ensure ceasefire and not to fight."
"What we will do in Libya is to strengthen the legitimate government," he added, noting an operation center would be established in the North African country torn by the raging civil war.
The mission for Turkish troops in Libya is to make coordination at the operation center, said the Turkish leader.
The Turkish parliament on Thursday passed a motion authorizing the government to deploy troops to Libya in support of the GNA, as Ankara signed with it security and military cooperation agreements as well as a controversial maritime boundary memorandum at the end of November.
ESCALATING TENSIONS
In recent weeks there has been an escalation of fighting and airstrikes in the North African country. On Saturday, an airstrike hit a military academy in Tripoli, killing 30 students and injuring 33 others.
The forces of the UN-backed government blamed the rival east-based army for the airstrike, and the east-based army denied it.
The UN Support Mission in Libya also condemned the airstrike, saying increasing military escalation has complicated the situation and threatened chances to return to the political process.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday that it evacuated more than 2,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from Libya in 2019.
"But nearly 1,000 asylum-seekers under the age of 18 are still languishing in Libyan detention centers," the UNHCR said in a statement.
Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political instability ever since the fall of its leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
