The Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, again declared that it was close to liberating the capital Tripoli from “terrorists allied with Turkey.” “Their days are numbered,” it said in a statement on Monday of the forces allied with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. The LNA media office announced to the Libyans that Tripoli’s liberation “from the clutches of terrorists allied with the Turkish invaders is near.” “We will soon celebrate victory in Martyrs’ Square,” it said in the capital’s famed square. Meanwhile, the GNA, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, announced that it has boosted its defenses of the strategic western coastal city of Sirte and central Jufrah region. Sarraj’s forces announced the downing of an LNA drone that was attempting to attack its positions in the al-Wishka region, located between Sirte and the western city of Misrata. The GNA said it destroyed several LNA military vehicles that tried to infiltrate the region south of Abugrein, some 120 kilometers south of Misrata. It also stated that an unspecified number of civilians were wounded in landmine bombings on the road connecting Abugrein to Jufrah, adding that the GNA forces were on full alert. The forces had some two weeks ago announced that they had repelled, for the third time in a month, an LNA offensive in the area. The GNA-held Abugrein is located just 140 kilometers west of Sirte, which is held by the LNA. Separately, the Russian Foreign Ministry denied the presence of “a single Russian soldier” involved in the conflict in Libya. It said it has not received any documented evidence that any Russians were involved in the hostilities in the north African country. It blamed some Arab media for promoting false claims that Moscow was involved in the fighting due to their open bias to one party of the conflict. In fact, Russia is working tirelessly to help reach a ceasefire and political solution to the crisis, it stressed.