Macron urges end to deployment of pro-Turkish Syrian militants to Libya

Duvar English

French President Emmanuel Macron on Jan. 19 slammed foreign troop deployments in war-torn Libya, as world leaders gathered to find a solution to the ongoing conflict in the North African country in Berlin.

Macron said that such intervention "only serves to fuel the conflict and create new risks for everyone."

He also expressed his "acute concerns over the arrival of Syrian and foreign fighters in the city of Tripoli."

"That must end," he said.

Ankara has been accused of sending hundreds of Syrian militants into Tripoli to back up Fayez al-Serraj's internationally recognized government while Moscow has allegedly deployed mercenaries to lend support to strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Turkey's parliament on Jan. 2 backed a motion on sending troops to Libya to support Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA).

On Jan. 20, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey sent a group of trainers to the country.

"We are not sending military forces to Libya at the moment. We have only sent a group for training and they carried it out there," Erdoğan told reporters on his way back from Berlin, while also slamming the presence of mercenaries in support of Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA).

"Wagner is there with 2,500 security personnel. Why don't we discuss it?" he also said.

Erdpğan noted that Turkey's efforts regarding Libya brought balance to process.

"We will continue to support political process both on the field and on the table," he said.