Turkey wants to extend the mission of its soldiers in Libya
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (dr) is greeted by the military at the airport in Tripoli, capital of the Government of National Unity.
August 17, 2020. AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In Turkey, the Presidency tabled this Saturday, December 12 in Parliament a resolution extending the mission of Turkish soldiers deployed in Libya.
It authorizes their presence on Libyan soil for an additional 18 months, in order to support the government of national unity.
The resolution will be debated in the coming days.
Its adoption is beyond doubt, thanks to the support of the deputies of the party in power and its ultranationalist ally.
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From our correspondent in Istanbul,
Anne Andlauer
Earlier this year, Turkey sent troops to Libya to support the government of national unity against the forces of Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Any deployment of Turkish military personnel abroad requires the green light from Parliament and the current resolution expires on January 2.
President Erdogan therefore asks deputies to renew this mission, this time for a year and a half.
The new resolution underlines that the situation in Libya continues to create a "
risk for Turkey and the whole region
", and that Turkey's interests in the Mediterranean basin and in North Africa would be "
negatively affected
" if Khalifa Haftar resumed his position. offensive.
While the two sides reached a permanent ceasefire in October, the resolution submitted to Turkish MPs affirms that Ankara "will
continue to strongly support efforts at political dialogue with a view to establishing a national compromise
".
The cease-fire agreement signed in Geneva provides in particular for the departure of foreign mercenaries within 90 days.
At the beginning of the month, however, the United Nations estimated at 20,000 the number of foreign fighters still present in Libya.
Among them, Syrian mercenaries sent by Turkey.
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See also: Libya: the challenges of the Turkish military initiative
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