Turkey Resumes Sending Mercenaries to Libya

SMA NEWS – Tripoli

Turkey has resumed sending Syrian mercenaries to Libya despite local and international demands to withdraw all foreign forces to stabilize the country ahead of the elections at the end of the year.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) revealed Friday that the Turkish government sent on March 8 a batch of 380 mercenaries to Libya, while another group of fighters is being prepared to be sent to Turkey with monthly salaries of $500.

There are currently about 7,000 mercenaries from the armed factions loyal to Turkey in Libya, and there are intentions to keep groups of them there to protect the Turkish bases, according to the observatory.

Many mercenaries also do not want to return to Syria, but rather intend to go to Europe via Italy.

Turkey sent about 20,000 Syrian mercenaries to Libya after signing the memorandum of understanding on security and military cooperation with the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.

As a result, thousands of Syrian mercenaries were dispatched to Libya to support GNA forces in their fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

Following the ceasefire agreement last October, Turkey withdrew a few thousand mercenaries, but it maintains its military presence in Al-Watiya airbase and Misrata base, in addition to the joint military command center in Tripoli.

Meanwhile, Deputy Presidential Council chief Abdullah al-Lafi said his country needs to re-evaluate its international relations, and differentiate between the forces that supported the establishment of the civil state and those that wanted suppression and marginalization.

Lafi was speaking during a symposium organized by the Center for Political, Economic and Social Studies (SITA) in Ankara entitled “a deeper understanding of the policies of external players towards Libya.”

He stressed that many can’t understand the policies of the international players towards Libya, as the politics and media alter them for their own interests.