Turkey’s troops in Libya: What’s their mission? To steal, kill and destroy

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 03:06 pm

The cease-fire call by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has yielded a prompt and positive response in Libya. On Wednesday, the two leaders called for a truce “supported by the necessary measures to be taken for stabilizing the situation on the ground.” Eyes are now fixated on the reactions of the Egyptians and Emiratis.
From the very beginning, President Erdoğan said Turkey’s objective in sending troops to Libya is “not to fight but to support the legitimate government and avoid a humanitarian tragedy.”
Turkish troops were dispatched to Libya after the Turkish Parliament approved the deployment of troops last month – a move that comes in accordance with the bilateral maritime memorandum of understanding between Ankara and Tripoli, which allows the legitimate and U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli to request Turkish military vehicles and weapons to use in ground, navy and air operations.
The Turkish troops that arrived in Libya will embark on establishing a joint office of defense and security cooperation.

GROUNDLESS FEARS
Many countries see Turkey as a backer of the Muslim Brotherhood, a political movement that is perceived as an imminent threat to the Egyptian and monarchical political structures. This perception by the regime in Egypt and the monarchies in the Gulf is not necessarily grounded.