16 Turkish soldiers killed in Libya, Field Marshal Haftar's forces claim

Turkey confirmed it had suffered losses in the Libyan conflict

A handout photograph taken and released on February 20, 2020 by the Turkish presidential press service shows Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shaking hands with the head of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj (L) during their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul.  RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Murat CETIMMUHURDAR / Turkish Presidential Press Service " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
 / AFP / TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / Murat CETINMUHURDAR / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Murat CETIMMUHURDAR / Turkish Presidential Press Service " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
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Forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar said on Sunday they had killed 16 Turkish soldiers in recent weeks, a day after Turkey acknowledged it had lost "several martyrs" in combat operations in the north African country.

Khalid Al Mahjoub, a spokesman for Field Marshal Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), said the Turkish deaths occurred during battles in the port city of Misurata, the capitol of Tripoli and in the town of Al Falah, south of the capital.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the death of "several" Turkish soldiers in the Libyan conflict during an address on Saturday.

"We are there (in Libya) with our (Turkish) soldiers and our teams from the Syrian National Army. We continue the struggle there. We have several martyrs. In return, however, we neutralised nearly a hundred (of Haftar's) legionaries," Mr Erdogan said.

Turkey backs Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) and has sent Syrian soldiers along with some of its own soldiers and weapons to help the Tripoli-based administration repel an attempt by the LNA to capture the capitol.

The deployment of Turkish soldiers and sophisticated air defences has erased small gains made by the LNA, with the help of Russian mercenaries, returning the front line roughly to where it was at start of Haftar's campaign in April 2019.

Ceasefire talks between Libya's warring sides resumed on Thursday after the GNA had pulled out of negotiations following the shelling of Tripoli's port by Haftar's forces.