TRIPOLI — Libya’s new interim government urged
Turkey on
Monday to “cooperate” over the withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries
from the country, to help bolster a seven-month-old ceasefire.
اضافة اعلان
“We call on Turkey to cooperate with us to put an end to the
presence of all foreign forces and mercenaries, in order to preserve the
sovereignty” of Libya, Foreign Minister
Najla Al-Mangoush said.
Libya’s interim government came into being in March,
replacing two rival administrations — one based in Tripoli and the other in the
country’s east.
The previous
Tripoli-based administration relied heavily on
Turkish military backing to repel a 2019-20 offensive by eastern strongman
Khalifa Haftar, who was in turn backed by the eastern administration and
foreign powers ranging from Egypt to Russia.
Both outgoing administrations gave their support to the new
interim government, mandated to lead the country to elections in December amid
a ceasefire agreed in October.
Mangoush spoke Monday at a press conference alongside
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is visiting Tripoli.
She stressed the “importance of Turkey’s contribution to
ending fighting and the stabilization of the ceasefire throughout the country.”
Cavusoglu for his part criticized those who “suggest ... the
Turkish presence in Libya is equivalent to that of illegitimate groups.”
Cooperation between Turkey and Libya within the framework of
a military accord signed in late 2019 “avoided Libya sinking into civil war,”
he contended.
“Our support has opened the way to a ceasefire and the
installation of a new unified political executive,” he added.
The establishment of the new government has generated
cautious hope that the country can move beyond the conflict and chaos that has
entrapped it since 2011.
But the continued presence of foreign fighters and
mercenaries, estimated by the UN at 20,000, is widely perceived as a threat to
the transition process.
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