Turkey Calls on US to Play ‘More Active Role’ in Libya

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia January 13, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia January 13, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters
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Turkey Calls on US to Play ‘More Active Role’ in Libya

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia January 13, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia January 13, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters

The United States needs to play a more active role in Libya, both in achieving a ceasefire and in political talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

The involvement of the United States in Libya, a NATO ally, was important to protect the alliance’s interests, Cavusoglu said in an interview with broadcaster NTV.

Turkish and US officials would discuss possible steps on Libya, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed during a call on Monday, he added.

“Only a lasting ceasefire under UN auspices would be acceptable,” he stressed, dismissing a ceasefire proposal by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Trump also discussed Libya with Sisi on Wednesday, including means to resume UN ceasefire talks and the departure of all foreign forces from the country.

Turkey supports Fayez al Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA), which is involved in ongoing clashes with Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA).

Haftar will “certainly disappear” if he loses support, Turkey's Defense Minister said on Wednesday, justifying his country’s military presence in Libya as due to an “invitation received from the GNA.”

As Turkey stands against Haftar, it is aiding the Libyan government with military training, cooperation and advisors, Hulusi Akar noted.

He said in a television interview that Turkey is making double efforts to bring peace throughout Libya.

Regarding Russia, Akar said Moscow has refuted reports on its forces’ presence in Libya, saying Ankara holds dialogues with it on the war-torn country.

Turkish-Russian dialogue on Libya will reflect positively on the country’s future, he said, affirming that bilateral talks are taking place at all levels.



Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

 A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

 A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Saturday.

The Rukban camp in Syria's desert was established in 2014, at the height of Syria's civil war, in a de-confliction zone controlled by the US-led coalition fighting the ISIS group, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Desperate people fleeing ISIS extremists and former government bombardment sought refuge there, hoping to cross into Jordan.

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government rarely allowed aid to enter the camp and neighboring countries closed their borders to the area, isolating Rukban for years.

After an opposition offensive toppled Assad in December, families started leaving the camp to return home.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based organization, said on Friday that the camp was "officially closed and empty, all families and residents have returned to their homes".

Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on X on Saturday that "with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close".

"Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert," he added.

At its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people. Around 8,000 people still lived there before Assad's fall, residing in mud-brick houses, with food and basic supplies smuggled in at high prices.

Syrian minister for emergency situations and disasters Raed al-Saleh said on X said the camp's closure represents "the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people".

"We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety," he added.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their places of origin since Assad's fall, after they were displaced within the country or abroad.

The IOM says the "lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge" for those returning home.