Foreign Minister Abdel Hadi Al-Huwaij of Libya’s eastern-based Interim Government said that Turkey was providing military support to armed militias in Tripoli.
In an interview with Al-Ittihad newspaper on Tuesday, Al-Huwaij said that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey was continuing to deploy Syrian mercenaries to Tripoli as a way of fulfilling the promise he made to the Government of National Accord (GNA) for signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on maritime borders with Turkey.
He added that Ankara is exporting terrorists to the Maghreb in order to keep them away from its borders, creating a problem for both North Africa and Europe.
President Erdoğan justified Turkey’s military involvement in Libya as an intervention to help the “children of the Ottoman”, referring to Libyans with Ottoman heritage.
According to Al-Huwaij, Erdoğan’s chief motive for being in Libya is “obtaining and controlling oil and natural resources in the region.”
He added that the Libyan National Army (LNA) is fighting a war on behalf of the region as a whole, and should be supported by the international community in its efforts to combat terrorism.
With respect to the truce in Tripoli, Al-Huwaij said that forces fighting on behalf of the Government of National Accord (GNA) are violating the agreement on a daily basis because they “do not respect laws, covenants, customs and international agreements.”