Turkey to send rebels to Libya? "May become the next Syria"

The Foreign Minister said he warned that the North African state could be in chaos, with the escalation of fighting between the Ankara-backed Tripoli government and General Heftar, supported by Russia and the Gulf states. In Bloomberg, it was reported that Turkey would send the Navy as well as forces fighting alongside it in Syria

Turkey to send rebels to Libya? "May become the next Syria"

Turkey's Foreign Minister warned on Sunday that the war in Libya could wreak havoc and the North African state may be "the next Syria". Ankara is working to speed up legislation that will allow it to send troops to help the internationally recognized government of Tripoli, known by the international community, to repel the attack of General Sufi Heffer, supported by Russia, Egypt and the Gulf states.

"If Libya becomes Syria today, it will be the turn of other countries in the region," the foreign minister said at a ruling party in Turkey. "We need to do everything we can to prevent Libya from splitting into chaos, which is what we do. We are dealing with the legitimate government there." Chabuschuelu emphasized that the agreements signed with the government in Tripoli regarding military and naval cooperation are important. The Foreign Minister will meet with the leaders of the three opposition parties tomorrow, in preparation for discussions by the government on the issue to be held this week.

The maritime agreement signed between Ankara and Tripoli, and rejected by Greece, Egypt and the government in the Greek part of Cyprus, is intended to serve the interests of both governments in the energy sector and save billions of dollars worth of risk in the conflict. On Thursday, an agreement will be signed in Athens between Greece, Cyprus and Greece on the construction of a gas pipeline in the eastern Mediterranean, in the face of Turkish operations in the region.

Triple Government forces today (Photo: Reuters)

Tripoli government forces, Libya, December 29, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

It is still unclear what Turkey's military aid will look like for the Tripoli government, if Parliament indeed approves it. A Turkish official and a member of Faiz a-Siraj's government have told Bloomberg that the Turkish navy will protect Tripoli while military forces are training the government's forces in the capital. At the same time, the officials said, Turkish fighter organizations should be deployed, fighting alongside the Turkish army in northern Syria against the Assad regime and the Kurds.

The lobbyist told Bloomberg that initially the Tripoli government had opposed a Turkish military presence on state territory, but Huffter's progress had changed. Today, the Tripoli government denied Syrian fighters were deployed in the country, following a video posted on social networks. According to her, the video was filmed in general in Idlib, the stronghold of the opposition in Syria.

In the shadow of tensions in the Mediterranean, Erdogan came to Tunisia for a surprise visit

Erdogan and Prime Minister Unity in Tripoli at a meeting in Turkey this month (Photo: Reuters)

Turkish President Erdogan meets with Prime Minister of Libya Al-Saraj in Istanbul \ December 15, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)