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Turkey Bolsters Influence across North Africa's Maghreb

Turkish President Erdogan (R) with head of Libya's GNA Fayez al-Sarraj. (Reuters file photo)
Turkish President Erdogan (R) with head of Libya's GNA Fayez al-Sarraj. (Reuters file photo)
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Turkey Bolsters Influence across North Africa's Maghreb

Turkish President Erdogan (R) with head of Libya's GNA Fayez al-Sarraj. (Reuters file photo)
Turkish President Erdogan (R) with head of Libya's GNA Fayez al-Sarraj. (Reuters file photo)

Turkey is boosting its influence across North Africa, analysts say, intervening militarily in war-torn Libya and using "soft power", trade and investment in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in recent years asserted Ankara's role as a regional player, sparring with Greece and the European Union as well as with Russia and Gulf nations.

Turkey's growing influence in the Maghreb is the result of Erdogan's "neo-Ottoman and pan-Islamic" foreign policy strategy, said historian Pierre Vermeren of Sorbonne University.

"It really started in 2011 at the time of the Arab Spring" when popular revolts toppled the region's rulers and Turkey backed Islamic movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, he said.

"In 2020 there was a sudden acceleration of Turkish influence, which is now direct with its intervention in Libya, putting Turkish soldiers and mercenaries on the borders of Algeria and Tunisia."

Ankara-backed networks are promoting Turkey "through social media and the press," Vermeren said, according to AFP.

Political analyst Ali Bakeer, based in Ankara, agreed that "Turkey is seeking to strengthen its relations with the countries of the Maghreb region as a part of its opening up on Africa strategy.

"Turkish-Algerian relations are emerging fast. Meanwhile mutual interests between Turkey and Libya are evolving day by day. When it comes to Tunisia and Morocco, Turkey is trying to focus on the mutual economic benefits."

Hard power in Libya
Turkey's impact has been most dramatic in oil-rich Libya, which was thrown into chaos after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and led to the killing of long-time ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi.

Ankara's help with military advisers, materiel and mercenaries -- echoing its interventions and defense support from Syria to Azerbaijan -- proved decisive this year when it rescued the Government of National Accord.

Turkey helped the Tripoli-based GNA push back an offensive by forces loyal to eastern-based Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar.

This also helped Turkey on a separate issue, a contest with Greece and Cyprus for offshore gas deposits, after Ankara signed a deal with the GNA laying claim to vast maritime territories.

Emadeddin Badi, an analyst at the Global Initiative Network, said that "Turkey is trying... to leverage its military investment for influence".

Its military footprint is now significant in Libya, a country seeking a permanent peace following a UN-brokered ceasefire.

"Turkey has the largest military base on the Tunisian border, a naval base, (and) camps populated by Syrian mercenaries," said Jalel Harchaoui of the Clingendael Institute in The Hague.

Turkey's parliament on Tuesday authorized an 18-month extension of its Libya troop deployment.

Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco
In the countries west of Libya, Turkey's focus has been on trade and investment.

More than 1,200 Turkish companies have set up shop in Algeria, a country Erdogan visited early this year and also helped with Covid-19 medical supplies.

Turkey has become the third largest importer of Algerian products, and the two countries aim to boost trade to 4.1 billion euros ($5 billion) a year.

In other outreach, Turkey helped in recent years with the restoration of the Ottoman-era Ketchaoua Mosque in Algiers.

Turkish imports to the Maghreb region have risen sharply, especially "Made in Turkey" textiles that squeeze out locally made goods.

"The Turks have flooded the textile market and killed many Moroccan brands," said one manufacturer in the kingdom, which in October revised a 2006 free trade deal.

In Tunisia, businesses have also been hit by low-cost Turkish products which have increased since a 2004 free trade deal, and Tunis in 2018 reimposed some import duties.

Turkey’s growing influence has also led to disputes within Tunisia’s parliament.

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Baby Freezes to Death Overnight in Gaza as Israel, Hamas Trade Accusations of Ceasefire Delays

Hundreds of displaced people are experiencing a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires and tents have grown increasingly threadbare over months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. (AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh; Production by Wafaa Shurafa)
Hundreds of displaced people are experiencing a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires and tents have grown increasingly threadbare over months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. (AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh; Production by Wafaa Shurafa)
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Baby Freezes to Death Overnight in Gaza as Israel, Hamas Trade Accusations of Ceasefire Delays

Hundreds of displaced people are experiencing a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires and tents have grown increasingly threadbare over months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. (AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh; Production by Wafaa Shurafa)
Hundreds of displaced people are experiencing a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires and tents have grown increasingly threadbare over months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. (AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh; Production by Wafaa Shurafa)

A baby girl froze to death overnight in Gaza, while Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts that could wind down the 14-month war.

The 3-week old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza's tent camps in recent days, doctors said, deaths that underscore the squalid conditions, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into often ramshackle tents after fleeing Israeli offensives.

Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are packed into tent camps along the coast as the cold, wet winter sets in. Aid groups have struggled to deliver food and supplies and say there are shortages of blankets, warm clothing and firewood, The AP reported.

Israel has increased the amount of aid it allows into the territory, reaching an average of 130 trucks a day so far this month, up from around 70 a day in October and November. Still, the amount remains well below than previous months and the United Nations says it is unable to distribute more than half the aid because Israeli forces deny permission to move within Gaza or because of rampant lawlessness and theft from trucks.

The father of 3-week-old Sila, Mahmoud al-Faseeh, wrapped her in a blanket to try and keep her warm in their tent in the Muwasi area outside the town of Khan Younis, but it wasn't enough, he told The Associated Press.

He said the tent was not sealed from the wind and the ground was cold, as temperatures on Tuesday night dropped to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit.) Muwasi is a desolate area of dunes and farmland on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.

“It was very cold overnight and as adults we couldn’t even take it. We couldn’t stay warm,” he said. Sila woke up crying three times overnight and in the morning they found her unresponsive, her body stiff.

“She was like wood,” said al-Faseeh. They rushed her to a field hospital where doctors tried to revive her, but her lungs had already deteriorated. Images of Sila taken by the AP showed the little girl with purple lips, her pale skin blotchy.

Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children’s ward at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, confirmed that the baby died of hypothermia. He said two other babies — one 3 days old, the other a month old — had been brought to the hospital over the past 48 hours after dying of hypothermia.

Meanwhile, hopes for a ceasefire looked complicated Wednesday, with Israel and the militant Hamas group that runs Gaza trading accusations of delaying an agreement. In recent weeks, the two sides appeared to be inching toward a deal that would bring home dozens of hostages held by the militants in Gaza, but differences have emerged.

Although Israel and Hamas have expressed optimism that progress was being made toward a deal, sticking points remain over the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, people involved in the talks say.

On Wednesday, Hamas accused Israel of introducing new conditions related to the withdrawal from Gaza, the prisoners and the return of displaced people, which it said was delaying the deal.

Israel's government accused Hamas of reneging on understandings that have already been reached.” Still, both sides said discussions are ongoing.

Israel’s negotiating team, which includes members from its intelligence agencies and the military, returned from Qatar on Tuesday evening for internal consultations, following a week of what it called “significant negotiations."

During its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Hamas and other groups took about 250 people hostages and brought them to Gaza. A previous truce in November 2023 freed more than 100 hostages, while others have been rescued or their remains have been recovered over the past year.

Israel says about 100 hostages remain in Gaza — at least a third whom it believes were killed during the Oct. 7 attack or died in captivity.

Sporadic talks have taken place for a year, but in recent weeks there's been a renewed push to reach a deal.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month for his second term, has demanded the immediate release of Israeli hostages, saying on social media that if they're not freed before he is sworn in, there will be “HELL TO PAY.”

Families of the hostages are becoming increasingly angry, calling on the Israeli government for a ceasefire before Trump is sworn in.

After Israel’s high-level negotiation team returned from Doha this week, hostage families called an emergency press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, pleading for a ceasefire and a complete end to the war.

Shir Siegel, the daughter of Israeli-American Keith Siegel, whose mother was released after more than 50 days in captivity, said every delay could endanger their lives. “There are moments when every second is fateful, and this is one of those moments,” she said.

Families of the hostages marked the first night of Hannukah with a candle lighting ceremony in Tel Aviv as well as by the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The agreement would take effect in phases and include a halt in fighting, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to the besieged Gaza, according to Egyptian, Hamas and American officials. The last phase would include the release of any remaining hostages, an end to the war and talks on reconstruction.