The forces of Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar have released a vessel with Turkish crew members seized over the weekend in the Mediterranean Sea.

Around 500 armed Sudanese men have arrived in Libya’s Benghazi as a prelude to being deployed alongside Khalifa Haftar’s forces around Tripoli, according to London-based newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed.

Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha says that the Russian mercenaries supporting Haftar are leading the battle on the front lines as infantry for control of the capital.

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) rejected the timeframe set out by retired Major General Khalifa Haftar for their withdrawal from the country’s western cities of Tripoli and Sirte, the spokesperson of the GNA’s Volcano of Anger counteroffensive operation announced yesterday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed Turkey would increase military support to Libya if necessary, and evaluate all options.

The United States is “very concerned” about the intensification of the conflict in Libya, with a rising number of reported Russian mercenaries supporting Khalifa Haftar’s forces on the ground turning the conflict into a bloodier one, a senior State Department official told Reuters on Saturday.

The commander of the navy forces of the Volcano of Rage Operation, Colonel Rida Issa has disclosed that Haftar’s militias intend to take control of a tugboat to use for combat missions.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) forces seized a ship with a Turkish crew off the Libyan coast, the LNA’s press service said on Sunday.

Turkey’s parliament on Saturday approved a security and military cooperation deal signed with Libya’s internationally-recognised government last month, state media reported, an agreement that could pave the way for military help from Ankara.

The Presidential Council of Libya’s UN-backed government condemned Friday an airstrike by foreign forces supporting commander Khalifa Haftar.