Libya's Presidential Council on Thursday underlined the importance of military cooperation between Turkey and Libya.
Abdullah al-Lafi, deputy chair of the Libyan Presidential Council, praised Turkey's military cooperation with his country.
According to a written statement from the Presidential Council, al-Lafi visited the joint operations force located at Mitiga Military Base in the capital Tripoli.
Appreciating the military cooperation between Turkey and Libya, al-Lafi said Libyan officers especially attach importance to benefiting from the experience of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
Emphasizing that the cooperation between Turkey and Libya in the military fields is very important, Lafi emphasized that bilateral cooperation should be implemented in line with the agreements signed between Tripoli and Ankara.
On Nov. 27, 2019, Ankara and Tripoli signed two separate memoranda of understanding (MoU): one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The North African country has been mired in civil war since the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a 2011 uprising. The bloodshed has drawn in competing Libyan factions and extremist groups as well as foreign powers.
According to the deal with the legitimate government in Libya, Turkey sent troops to shore up the United Nations-recognized government in Tripoli while Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia and other countries including France supported the eastern-based illegitimate forces led by putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who in 2019 launched an offensive to attempt to capture the capital, Tripoli. His 14-month-long campaign collapsed, and the fall of Tripoli was prevented after Turkey stepped up its military support of the U.N.-backed government.
Turkish military personnel, who are in Libya on the official invitation of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), have been providing support to hundreds of Libyan military cadets in various capacities. The inadequacy of state institutions, especially the lack of a modern and professional army, that emerged after the collapse of Moammar Gadhafi's regime during the Arab Spring, are considered the main reasons behind many of Libya's recent troubles.
The deal involves technical information, support, development, maintenance, repair, planning and material support, training and consultancy services regarding the use of weapons systems and equipment. It covers joint military exercises, the security and defense industry, counterterrorism, illegal migration, the security of land, sea and air borders, narco-terrorism, anti-smuggling, operations on improvised explosives and natural disasters, conducting joint operations as well as the organizational structure of the defense and security forces.
Security sources in Ankara have several times pointed out that Turkish forces cannot be classified as foreign fighters, unlike Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, as Turkish soldiers are in the country upon an official invitation by the internationally recognized Libyan government.