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Why did Hifter's forces host Libyan army celebration in Cairo?

The presence of senior government figures and military leaders from Egypt and Libya at the Libyan National Army anniversary in Cairo clearly shows that Egypt and its army will always have Libya’s back against Turkish influence.

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Brigadier General Ahmed al-Mesmari, spokesman of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar, speaks during a press conference in Egypt's capital Cairo on March 15, 2020. — Photo by MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images

CAIRO — The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, organized a major celebration on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of an armed forces for Libya on Aug. 10 in the Abu Rawash area west of the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Although the LNA is less than a decade old — founded in 2011 after forces forces aligned to the National Transitional Council defeated the army of Moammar al-Gadhafi — Hifter has sought to present it as the only legitimate armed forces, and thus the successor of the Libyan army founded in 1940 to liberate the country from the Italian occupation.

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