Turkish discord on peace tension… New mercenaries to Libya
“With deaf ears and deceptive diplomacy, Turkey continues to charge the Libyan arena with mercenary fuel, an outburst of peace for this country.”
“What is new this time is the return of a new batch of Syrian mercenaries from Libya, the largest in months, as Turkey continues the process of replacing fighters loyal to it.”
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the group of pro-Turkish mercenaries who returned to Syria over the last 48 hours included 95 fighters from several factions, among them : Al-Hamza Division, Glory Corps, and Sultan Murad.
The same sources explained that the return of the large batch is the first of its kind since last March, but it is not a prelude to Turkey withdrawing its mercenaries from Libya, as is hoped, but part of the process of transferring fighters; Another batch of more than 100 of the same factions has recently been sent to Libyan territory.
“By sending the new batch, Turkey is flouting international demands to withdraw its mercenaries from Libya, contradicting the reality of reassuring Ankara’s guests, as the latter continues to swap its fighters according to its established secret schedule for maneuvering the presence of pro-Turkey militants in the African country.”
“Thus, Libyan territory sees a continued mercenary presence, with no weight in Turkey for Libyans’ domestic understandings, nor for international appeals and demands to remove foreign fighters from the country.”
The Libyan Government of National Unity had expressed, through its Foreign Minister, Najla Al-Mangoush, its true desire to withdraw mercenaries and foreign forces from its country.
“Last week, the UN envoy to Libya, Ján Kubiš, visited Turkey as part of international efforts to persuade Turkey to stop sending mercenaries and to contribute positively to supporting the political settlement process and holding the elections on time, after the parties agreed to form a national unity government and unify the parliament”.
Earlier, in separate statements to Al Ain News, experts suggested that Turkey was stalling on maintaining its positions in Libya, considering that it had signed an illegitimate agreement with the former government of reconciliation that did not enjoy the confidence of the Libyan parliament.
Experts confirmed that the movements of the Turkish Ministry of Defense inside Libya do not imply that they will be out soon, as they are in military bases in the west of the country : “Mitiga, the National Air Academy” and Ankara’s supply of tons of war equipment, undeterred.
“Turkey controls a number of military, air, and naval bases in western Libya, most famously : El Ouatia, it has also recruited more than 18 thousand Syrian mercenaries, most of whom were returned after their contracts expired, in addition to 10 thousand terrorists of other nationalities, including 2500 Tunisian nationals, 496 of whom have been killed, according to previous statements by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The presence of mercenaries in Ankara continues despite international and Libyan statements rejecting the presence of foreign troops and mercenaries inside the country, despite UN resolutions banning arms to Libya since 2011 and the ceasefire agreement signed in Geneva on October 23.
