Turkey Under Fire Over Military Presence in Libya
Voice of America
ISTANBUL - International pressure is growing on Turkey over its military presence in Libya.
Turkey deployed hundreds of soldiers and thousands of Syrian fighters in support of the Libyan Government of National Accord in its battle against forces of Libya's General Khalifa Hafta, who is backed by Russian and Sudanese mercenaries.
Now, with a cease-fire in force and elections scheduled for December, Aya Burweila, a visiting lecturer at the Hellenic National Defense College, says pressure is growing for all foreign troops to quit.
"There has been two UN Security Council Resolutions already for the removal of all foreign presence from Libya, be it Turkish Russian Sudanese, so yes, the political terrain has changed very much," said Burweila. "There has been an increasing realization that Turkey was building up its presence on the Mediterranean in Libya. So I think the EU as well as the United States had a rude awakening about Turkish intentions in Libya."