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© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Commander threatens to target Turkish forces in Libya
By NOHA ELHENNAWY CAIRO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Desert Tortoise
I guess you forgot that it was NATO forces who helped run Muammar Gaddafi out and then helped establish the UN backed government in Tripoli. Turkey is entering the fray because Khalifa Haftar, the warlord who controls eastern Libya with UAE, Egyptian Saudi, Chinese and Russian military support is bringing in Syrian militias and Russian mercenaries to fight on Haftar's side against the UN, EU and US sponsored government in Tripoli. Turkey doesn't want to see the Russians and Syrians win and their intervention has stopped Haftar's military advances cold. France seems more supportive of Haftar because they need oil from the oil fields and refineries he controls and in this matter are at odds with the rest of the EU and the US too.
lostrune2
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/5/25/hundreds-more-russian-mercenaries-flee-western-libya-gna-forces
What are Russian (military) "mercenaries" doing on Libya and uninvited by the UN-recognized Libyan government?
Desert Tortoise
They are violating the UN arms embargo on Libya, that's what. Everyone is angling for power there because there is a lot of oil in Libya. The Saudis and UAE are shipping boatloads of their Sunni fighters to Libya and UAE is using their air force to support Haftar's forces. The Russians want to build influence and possibly bases in the southern Med to offset NATO (nothing new there) but it is interesting to see the Russians working side by side with the same Islamist thugs they are fighting in Syria. The Turks don't want those same Islamist thugs to develop a stronghold in Libya from which to mount attacks around the world, funded by the abundant oil in Libya. China is using it as giant open air live fire test range to try out some of their new drones and other equipment in a real combat. And France plays both sides since they really want to be able to buy oil from the big oil fields controlled by Haftar while not getting to sideways with the UN, EU and US. Oh, and the French really don't like the Turks either. Is that complicated enough for everyone? Merry Christmas.