LIBYA’S UN-backed government today denied claims that extremists had been recruited into the ranks of the Libyan army, despite thousands of jihadists allegedly being sent to the country by Turkey.

Fighters allied to General Khalifa Hiftar’s rival Libyan National Army (LNA) claimed to have engaged with Isis and al-Qaida militants during battle for control of the capital, Tripoli.

But Government of National Accord (GNA) spokesman Abdul-Malik al-Madani said that those fighting with the UN-backed administration were “mostly young Libyan engineers, doctors or teachers ...”

He insisted that “only the Libyan people and troops of the Libyan army are fighting within our ranks.”

Libya has continued to spiral into chaos with two parallel governments — the Tripoli-based GNA and the LNA, which controls most of the eastern part of the country — vying for power.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres branded the situation “a scandal” on Tuesday, with the peace agreement reached at last month’s Berlin peace conference lying in tatters.

“They committed not to interfere in the Libyan process and they committed not to send weapons or participate in any way in the fighting. 

“The truth is that the security council (arms) embargo remains violated,” he said at a gathering of world leaders in New York.

GNA claims appear to contradict reality, with Turkey sending as many as 4,000 fighters from the Syrian battlefields to assist the UN-backed government.

As previously reported in the Morning Star, jihadists affiliated to Isis and al-Qaida are employed directly by the GNA on six-month contracts.

As well as receiving a lucrative monthly payment, the jihadists are guaranteed Turkish nationality once they have completed their service.

UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame called for the ceasefire to be respected by all sides and for peace talks to continue on Tuesday.