Turkey is preparing to send a new lot of Syrian mercenaries to Libya

Turkey prepares to send a new group of Syrian mercenaries to Libya with the presence of international appeals for withdrawing all foreign fighters from the country.

Ankara’s current provisions to send new fighters come just a few days after that it annulled the return of 140 mercenaries from Libya to Syria for unidentified reasons, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). This came when the national parties repeated appeals for the removal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, in the execution of the pact of the sides of the conflict in October 2020.

On Friday, French Foreign Minister Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, also appealed for the requirement of the leaving of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya. He also affirmed that his country’s backing for international efforts to finish the political crisis and cease foreign interference in this country.

Le Drian also conversed with the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy to Libya, Jan Kubic, about the ways to support the political transition.

It should indicate that last week, the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) saluted the consequences of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) that resulted in the choice of a unified interim executive authority. The JMC affirmed that it is completely committed to realizing all provisions of the ceasefire deal, appealing for withdrawing of mercenaries and foreign fighters from the Libyan territory instantly.

Furthermore, the UN Security Council has asked all countries that have foreign forces and mercenaries in the North African nation to remove them without further delay, with the move of the divided North African nation toward elections in December.

It also appealed on the interim executives to agree swiftly on the formation of a new, inclusive government, and to prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections programmed for December 24, and also improving services for the Libyan people and launches a comprehensive national reconciliation operation.

It should note that Turkey affirmed that its forces are permissible to stay in Libya as long as the understanding that it made with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) in 2019 is remaining effective.

The Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that there can be no talk of a solution in Libya without Turkey. While, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Tuesday that Ankara would discuss retreating its forces from Libya if other foreign troops are remote at first. He also said that Turkish armed forces personnel were installed in Libya only to train units loyal to the GNA.

Erdogan also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for demanding the removal of Turkish forces and mercenaries, saying that Mercenaries have come from various regions of Libya, but Macron is only bothered by Turkey’s presence.

Otherwise, a ceasefire deal made between the Libyan warring parties in October 2020 appeals all foreign forces and mercenaries to leave from Libya within three months. But, the January 2021 deadline has since passed without withdrawal.