Libyan commander Hifter warns Turkey to stop interfering in Libya

A Libyan commander who launched an offensive last year to capture the capital Tripoli has threatened to use force against Turkish troops if Ankara doesn't stop interfering in the conflict.

Khalifa Hifter's comments came in response to the Turkish parliament's decision to extend for 18 months a law that allows the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya.

"There is no peace in the shadow of the coloniser, and in their presence in our land we will take up arms to make peace with our own hands," he said during a military ceremony in Benghazi on Thursday.

Libya has two rival governments - one in Tripoli that's backed by the United Nations, and one in eastern Libya that's linked to Hifter's Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) .

Turkish military assistance to the Tripoli-based government — including advisors, equipment and intelligence — helped stop Hifter's year-long offensive on the capital.

Turkey has also been accused of sending thousands of Syrian mercenaries to Libya.

Throughout his campaign to try and take Tripoli, which collapsed in June, Hifter had the backing of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, France and Russia.

Besides Turkey, the Tripoli government has been supported by Italy and Qatar.

(IMAGE CREDITS:AP)