Turkey Pressures its Allies in Syria to Send Fighters to Libya

Arab World

May 26th, 7:29am

Berlin - Asharq Al-Awsat

Members of Libya’s GNA carry weapons in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya. (Reuters)

The international uproar sparked by Germany earlier this year when it hosted a conference to resolve the Libyan crisis was short-lived after the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Berlin is still unable to end the fighting and flow of weapons to Libya, as Turkey continues to expand its influence there, taking advantage of the world's preoccupation with the coronavirus crisis, according to German magazine Der Spiegel. Four months after the Berlin conference, which the magazine said was “a victory for German diplomacy”, peace still eludes Libya and the crisis has only escalated. Der Spiegel described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as "the secret ruler" of Tripoli, saying Ankara has expanded its presence in Libya, despite his pledge in Berlin to end his support for the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj. The magazine noted that days after the Berlin conference, a ship loaded with tanks arrived in Tripoli apparently coming from two ports in Turkey. Since then, Turkey has been supplying GNA with fighters, weapons and military equipment, such as drones and a missile defense system. Members of the Syrian opposition told the magazine that approximately 7,000 Syrians were sent to Libya at the request of Turkey, which pays them as much as $2,000 a month, five times more than what the fighters would receive in Syria. Ankara is also pressing its allies in Syria to send more fighters to Tripoli, threatening to end its financial support if they do not, according to Der Spiegel. A fighter told the magazine that Ankara wants each battalion to send 200 fighters, or it will not support them, adding that there is nothing they can do because they can’t find other allies. The magazine quoted a Syrian officer, who he has been in Libya since January, as saying that the situation in Libya is similar to the beginnings of the war in Syria. “The locals here hate us, and Turkey treats us as pawns,” he said. European officials want to restore stability in Libya, but the differences between Italy and France are impeding the European Union’s efforts. The magazine quoted a weapons expert as saying that EU has several options, including imposing sanctions on Turkey for violating the arms embargo, but Europe does not want to go down that route. Der Spiegel warned that Turkey may exploit coastal Libyan areas under its control to threaten Europe with the flow refugees, sparking similar panic to when it opened its border to release Syrian asylum-seekers.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2302496/turkey-pressures-its-allies-syria-send-fighters-libya