Turkey starting troop deployment to Libya

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Turkey is beginning to send troops into Libya in support of the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Jan. 16, days before a summit in Berlin which will address the Libyan conflict.

Speaking in Ankara, Erdoğan added that Turkey will continue to use all diplomatic and military means to ensure stability to its south, including in Libya.

"In order for the legitimate government in Libya to remain standing and for stability to be established, we are now sending our soldiers to this country," said Erdoğan, who is due to meet leaders of Germany, Russia, Britain and Italy on Jan. 19 to discuss the conflict.

On Jan. 2, Turkey’s parliament approved a motion on sending troops to Libya, with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) backing the bill.

Turkey, which backs Fayez al-Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA), has previously said that it sent a training and cooperation team which is now active in Libya against the Libyan National Army (LNA) loyal to Khalifa Haftar, which is backed by Russia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt.

The Turkish President warned on Jan. 14 that Turkey will not refrain from "teaching a lesson" to Haftar's eastern Libyan forces if their attacks against the GNA continue.

Turkey and Libya signed two agreements in November last year, one on military cooperation and another on maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean. Erdoğan said on Jan. 16 that Turkey will quickly start granting licenses for exploration and drilling in the region.

"In the areas that remain between Turkey and Libya, it is now legally impossible for there to be exploration and drilling activities or a pipeline without the approval of both sides," he said.

"After these licensing efforts, our Oruç Reis seismic exploration ship will begin its seismic research operations in the region," he added.

Greece, Greek Cyprus and other regional actors have opposed this accord, calling it illegal. Turkey has rejected the accusations.

Turkey's troop deployment to Libya have been raising eyebrows over Syrian rebel presence in the war-torn country.

The Guardian on Jan. 15 said that some 2,000 Syrian fighters have traveled from Turkey or will arrive imminently to fight alongside the U.N.-backed GNA on the battlefields of Libya.

Some 650 fighters are already in Libya, where they have been posted to frontline positions in the east of Tripoli, the newspaper said. Another 1,350 men crossed into Turkey on Jan. 5, some of whom have since been deployed to Libya with others still undergoing training at camps in southern Turkey.

The militants have signed six-month contracts directly with the GNA, rather than with the Turkish military, sources from the Syrian National Army (SNA) told the newspaper.

The GNA will provide each fighter with $2,000 a month, which is a vast sum compared with the 450-550 Turkish Liras ($76-93) a month they earn in Syria. The fighters have been offered Turkish nationality in return for their efforts, according to the SNA sources.

The Turkish government is also paying medical bills for injured Syrian fighters and is responsible for repatriating the dead fighters to Syria. At least four Syrians have died in Libya already, the Guardian said.

The deployment of the fighters comes after the GNA in December requested Turkish support as it fends off an offensive by Haftar’s forces, which are backed by Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

On Jan. 12, the warring sides of the Libyan conflict announced a ceasefire in response to the call of Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But, Haftar walked away from peace talks that took place one day later in Moscow, failing to sign a binding truce with the GNA’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

The talks in Moscow were the latest attempt to stabilize Libya, which has been beset by turmoil since Muammer Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

On Jan. 14, the speaker of Libya’s eastern-based parliament declared an end to ceasefire in the conflict-ridden country. “The ceasefire in Libya is over, and the war will resume,” said Aguila Saleh Issa, speaking to Arab satellite television station Al-Ghad.

“They responded positively to the ceasefire because of their respect for Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Issa said, referring to Haftar’s delegation at the ceasefire talks.

Touching on the failure of militias loyal to Haftar in making headway in clashes against forces of Libya’s U.N.-recognized government, Issa said: “Turkey’s intervention delayed us in achieving results in the fight to take back Tripoli.”