Turkey urges UN to be more active in Libya amid Haftar offensive

Turkey has urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be more active in Libya by boosting efforts for a political solution and cease-fire, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has revealed, reiterating that the continued deadly offensive by General Khalifa Haftar's forces risks deeper chaos and further disintegration in the country.

"Everybody should understand this: There will be no winner of this civil war in Libya. If we cannot stop the clashes, this war may last long," Çavuşoğlu told Ankara bureau chiefs of media outlets on Jan. 6. He also informed that the U.N. chief was also on the same page as him over the need for a political solution to the conflict.

Çavuşoğlu expressed his opinions to Guterres during a phone conversation late Jan. 5, when the two men discussed recent developments in the Middle East and Libya amid Turkey's preparations to deploy troops to the North African country.

The Turkish foreign minister has stressed on an aerial deadly attack by Haftar forces against a military school in the southern skirts of Tripoli that claimed the lives of at least 40 students and called on the U.N. chief to take action.

"This kind of attack indicates that Haftar and his supporters are not in favor of peace and a political process but of a military solution," he said.

To reach a political solution requires the involvement of the U.N. secretary-general, as the efforts of the special representative alone would not yield the demanded results, Çavuşoğlu stressed, underlining the need for the protection of the UN-backed Tripoli government against the Haftar forces.

Haftar has superiority in terms of air forces but balance is being observed as for the ground forces, Çavuşoğlu said, recalling that Tripoli repelled several...