ANKARA: Libyan National Army (LNA) forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar on Monday captured large parts of the central coastal city of Sirte. The city, birthplace of former dictator Muammar Qaddafi, has been controlled since 2016 by the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli. “The army forces control all the districts surrounding Sirte, and we are heading toward the heart of the city to complete its liberation,” LNA spokesman Khaled Al-Mahjoub said. The advance by Haftar’s forces came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had sent troops to Libya to support the GNA, following last week’s approval by parliament. “The mission of our soldiers there is coordination,” Erdogan said. “They will develop an operations center.” Turkey is expected to send about 2,000 troops to Libya, including special forces, and to deploy electronic weapons such as the KORAL land-based mobile radar-jamming system. However, experts told Arab News they faced a tough task. “The main air and sea ports in Tripoli and Misrata still remain under threat by the LNA … which will make significant operations of air and sea assets difficult for Turkey,” said Oded Berkowitz, a security analyst. “Turkey will need a strong, large and safe operating base in Libya, which … they will have great difficulty in achieving.” Egypt said it would host a meeting on Wednesday of foreign ministers from France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus, to discuss “rapid developments” in Libya and “ways to push efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement.”