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The Libyan National Army said it was preparing to liberate the eastern city of Derna from terrorists. (Reuters)
Hours after escaping an attempt on his life, Libyan National Army Chief of Staff General Abdelrazak al-Nadhuri announced that his forces are completely prepared to liberate the eastern port city of Derna from terrorist clutches.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the LNA alone will complete this mission, denying media reports that said Egyptian and Russian forces were prepared to fight alongside the Libyan troops.
He also denied claims that Russia had set up a military base in the eastern region.
Some 1,500 terrorists from various nationalities from all over the world are still in Derna, “but we will enter it very soon,” he vowed.
Derna is the last remaining terrorist bastion in the coastal eastern Libya region.
Despite the army’s limited means, continued Nadhuri, “Our forces have managed to defeat 95 percent of terrorism that was present in eastern Libya. The remaining five percent lies in Derna.”
The LNA Chief of Staff had survived on Wednesday an assassination attempt as his convoy was passing through the eastern city of Benghazi. One civilian was killed and at least two others wounded in the attack.
The explosion took place in the Sidi Khalifa district at the eastern entrance to Benghazi, the LNA statement said.
Nadhuri accused al-Qaeda and ISIS affiliates of being behind the attack, saying they will not deter him from fulfilling his duty in combating terrorism in his country.
"This cowardly terrorist act comes after the defeat of these terrorist groups in Benghazi," he told the Al-Hadath news outlet on Wednesday.
Asked about when LNA commander Field Marshal Khalif Haftar is expected to return to Libya, he told Asharq Al-Awsat that he will be back home “in two or three days.”
He revealed that Haftar had telephoned him in wake of the assassination attempt.
There has been much speculation about Haftar’s health after he was hospitalized in France.
Sources close to the strongman told Asharq Al-Awsat over the weekend that he suffered from a severe flu during his recent surprise trip to Jordan. His condition worsened when he returned to Libya, forcing him to cancel several items on his crammed agenda. He still suffered from the flu when he paid a visit to Egypt last week.
After holding talks with the Egyptian presidency, Haftar was transported by a medical helicopter to a Paris hospital.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced on Wednesday that his health had improved and that he was being treated at a military hospital in the French capital.
Circles close to Haftar accuse the Muslim Brotherhood of spreading rumors about his health.
https://aawsat.com/node/1243626
https://aawsat.com/node/1243626
