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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan left no doubt about his government’s commitment to Libya last month, pulling out all the stops to welcome Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and 14 of his ministers to Ankara. Following the March change in government in Tripoli, the two countries committed to joint projects in energy, reconstruction and beyond, solidifying Turkey’s role in post-conflict Libya.
Ankara s involvement in Libya s civil war began to emerge in January 2018, when the Greek coastguard impounded a shipping vessel carrying weapons and explosives from Turkey to the Libyan port of Misrata, an apparent effort by the government to support Islamist-linked rebels in violation of a UN embargo. When a Turkish ship carrying thousands of guns was seized in Libya’s Khoms port later that year, the Turkish government’s backing of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) had been exposed.
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 awakeni
April 05, 2021
European Council President Charles Michel and Libyan Foreign Minister Najla El-Mangoush during a press conference in Tripoli on Sunday. courtesy Xinhua
TRIPOLI Libyan Foreign Minister Najla El-Mangoush reiterated her assertion that the strategy of the national unity government in her country is clear and serious towards the immediate departure of foreign mercenaries from Libyan lands.
During a joint press conference Sunday here with the President of the European Council Charles Michel, El-Mangoush called on all countries to accelerate the return and reopening of their embassies and consulates to quickly provide their services to Libyan citizens and foreigners as well.