On the sidelines of Libyan Prime Minister, Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba’s visit to Turkey on Saturday, Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, said Turkish forces will not leave Libya.
This move raises doubts about Ankara’s intention to open the way for a political solution and withdraw mercenaries and its affiliated forces from Libya.
Observers believe that Turkey views the Libyan South with great interest, as 70% of Libya’s wealth is concentrated in this region.
Turkey continues to recruit mercenaries and foreign militants in order to send them to Libya, to preserve Ankara’s interests and expand its military presence inside the country, sources revealed to Libya Review.
The sources explained that Ankara recruited Sudanese armed groups in order to send them to the South of Libya to target the army forces stationed on the Chadian border.
The sources added that the company responsible for recruiting a group of Sudanese mercenaries is owned by Turkish businessman Oktay Shaban Hosni. Oktay is close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Oktay left Sudan after the fall of the previous regime, who assigned him there. Sources said that “the Turkish company responsible for recruitment operations continues to work in various forms due to its officials’ extensive relations with workers and miners in Sudan.”
In February, a report by a team of United Nations Security Council experts revealed that Sudanese armed groups participated in the fighting in Libya.
After Kadhafi's overthrow, Libya fell under the control of a complex, ever-shifting patchwork of militias and foreign mercenaries backing rival administrations.
But a UN-backed ceasefire was agreed last October, paving the way for the establishment in March of an interim administration.
The new government led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah is tasked with organising presidential and parliamentary elections in December if a legal framework is agreed on time.
The continuing efforts to bring mercenaries into Libya and the presence of foreign forces in many parts of Libya remain a major obstacle to the holding of the Libyan upcoming elections, scheduled for next December.
No comments:
Post a Comment