TRIPOLI: Libya's army spokesman Ahmed Al-Mesmari said on Monday that his National Libyan Army (LNA) forces were making progress toward the capital city of Tripoli amid an escalation of tensions.

Speaking in a press conference, Al-Mesmari also said that a Turkish drone that had been targeting the national army troops had been shot down.

On Sunday, Turkey pledged to send troops to Libya, in support of the GNA in Tripoli.

“We will be protecting the rights of Libya and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean," Erdogan told Turkish television. "We are more than ready to give whatever support necessary to Libya.”

Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Monday that the security of Libya was in the best interests of Egypt, and said there was a difference between involvement to seek a political situation for the country and “interfering in Libya.”