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Turkey extends mandate of troops deployed in Libya

June 22, 2022 at 11:28 am

Turkish troops on May 28, 2020 [Turkish Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu Agency]

The Turkish parliament yesterday approved a presidential request to extend for another 18 months a mandate that allows the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya.

The new mandate starts from 2 July.

Both President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party and its nationalist allies, which hold a majority in parliament, and the opposition party voted in favour of the extension.

In his request, Erdogan said: “The efforts initiated by Libya after February 2011, to build democratic institutions, were in vain due to armed conflicts that led to the emergence of a fragmented administrative structure in the country.”

The request pointed to the signing of the Skhirat Agreement in Morocco, under the United Nations auspices in December 2015, after nearly a year of negotiations between all Libyan parties, in order to establish a ceasefire and preserve the country’s territorial integrity, following the inability to stop violence in Libya, ensuring political integrity and establishing an effective state mechanism.

Erdogan also cited the ongoing “political uncertainty” in Libya and “risks and threats” that could threaten Turkey’s interests in the Mediterranean and North Africa.

The request said Turkish troops were continuing to provide military training and consultancy in the country.

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