Turkey resumes sending mercenaries to Libya ahead of Ghadames reconciliation session
Meeting expected to mark milestone towards resolving Libyan political crisis
Abu Dhabi: As the participants in the UN-sponsored Libyan dialogue prepare for a new vote Monday on a mechanism for electing the new authority in the country, there was an acceleration in the movement of Turkish military cargo flights to western Libya, amid information about Ankara’s resumption of sending mercenaries, despite the agreement between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and Government of National Accord (NLA) last month to withdraw them from Libya within three months.
The Ghadames reconciliation session will seek to end the division within Libya’s legislative bodies and allow them to perform their duties to the fullest.
The upcoming meeting in Ghadames, near Libya’s borders with Tunisia and Algeria, is expected to mark an important milestone towards resolving the Libyan political crisis.
Libya’s House of Representatives, based in Tobruk, northeastern Libya, and the High Council of State, headquartered in Tripoli, northwestern Libya, have been in conflict for several years, causing a political deadlock in the war-torn country.
New batch
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Saturday that there is information about Turkey’s intention to send a new batch of mercenaries from the Syrian factions loyal to it to Libya in the coming days.
On the other hand, members of the Libyan Parliament intend to meet in the city of Ghadames, in the west of the country, while the Speaker of Parliament, Agila Saleh, called for another meeting in Benghazi. The team supporting Saleh accuses his opponents of “seeking to choose a speaker loyal to the Brotherhood.”
Asharq Al Awsat quoted Libyan political analyst Khaled Al Turjuman, as saying the temporary goal is to dismiss Saleh and seize the presidency of Parliament. “The real goal is to dismiss the Libyan National Army commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar,” Al Turjuman added.