Turkey discusses maintaining army in Libya, Afghanistan

Minister Of National Defence of Turkey, Hulusi Akar (R) and Minister of Defence of Libya, Salah Eddine al-Namrush (L) pose for a photo during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey on September 01, 2020 [Ministry Of National Defence/Anadolu Agency]

The Turkish parliament yesterday began discussing a memorandum submitted by the Presidency of the Republic to extend the tasks of Turkish forces in Libya and Afghanistan for an additional 18 months.

The memorandum was submitted to parliament on 12 December and seeks to extend the duties of the armed forces in Libya, for an additional 18 months, as of 2 January.

The Turkish forces in Libya provide humanitarian support as well as military and mine clearance training.

On 27 November 2019, Turkey and Libya signed two memoranda of understandings related to security and military cooperation, as well as unifying maritime jurisdiction in order to protect their rights under the provisions of international law.

As part of the security cooperation agreement, Turkey supports the internationally-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in confronting renegade General Khalifa Haftar’s militia, which is supported by Arab and European countries, and seeks to unseat the GNA in the oil-rich country.

READ: Presence of 20,000 foreign fighters in Libya causes serious impasse, says UN

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