Africa Fears Turkish Arms Smuggled through Libya May Fall in Wrong Hands

GNA forces in Libya. (Reuters)
GNA forces in Libya. (Reuters)
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Africa Fears Turkish Arms Smuggled through Libya May Fall in Wrong Hands

GNA forces in Libya. (Reuters)
GNA forces in Libya. (Reuters)

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari recently warned that the chaos and spread of arms in Libya may negatively impact security in Africa as a whole.

His remarks raised concerns among experts that the weapons smuggled into Libya, namely from Turkey, may fall in the wrong hands in Africa, especially terrorist groups.

Buhari said that the weapons are already in possession of “terrorists and criminals” and have been so since the fall of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.

Head of the defense and national security committee in the east-based Libyan parliament, Talal al-Mayhoub told Asharq Al-Awsat that Ankara has sent a “massive” amount of arms to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

Some of these weapons may have already fallen in the hands of terrorist groups in neighboring countries, he added.

The United Nations had previously estimated that some 29 million pieces of arms are possessed by militias and regular civilians in Libya.

Meanwhile, Jamal Shalouf, head of the Silvium Foundation for Studies and Research in Libya, said that Turkey has transformed Libya into a “transit point for covertly sending weapons to several parties in Africa.”

He accused Ankara of abusing the military deal it signed with the GNA in 2019 to further these operations.

A recent report by the Silvium Foundation found that Turkey has carried out 172 military shipments to western Libya from March to December 2020. Forty of these shipments took place after the GNA and Libyan National Army (LNA) signed a ceasefire in October.

The majority of flights from Turkey to Libya have been made by airbuses that can carry as much as 37 tons in cargo, the report added.

No one can really imagine that such vast amounts of weapons were used in the fighting between the GNA and LNA, which had effectively come to a halt in May, it continued.

So, it is more than likely that the weapons have been sent to groups that Turkey had previously cooperated with in Syria, such as ISIS and al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, both of which target French forces deployed in the region.

Moroccan political researcher Abdul Fattah Naoum described Turkish activity in the Sahel and Sahara as “suspicious”.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said: “After ISIS was weakened in Syria and Iraq, Turkey shifted its attention to Libya, taking advantage of the chaos there. It focused on striking alliances with militias in western Libya, specifically those affiliated with the Muslims Brotherhood, to further its goals in Africa.”

Ankara has succeeded in transforming Libya into a transit point for the movement of extremists from the eastern Mediterranean region to Africa, in coordination with militias in Africa, he continued. Turkey has been able to employ its intelligence in communicating with groups in the Sahel and Sahara regions and incite the people against French troops deployed there.



Reaction to Trump Pausing Military Aid to Ukraine 

Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire an M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 28, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire an M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 28, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
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Reaction to Trump Pausing Military Aid to Ukraine 

Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire an M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 28, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire an M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 28, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)

US President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, a White House official said, deepening the fissure that has opened between the one-time allies.

Here are reactions to the move.

US SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN, THE TOP DEMOCRAT ON THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE:

“By freezing military aid to Ukraine, President Trump has kicked the door wide open for Putin to escalate his violent aggression against innocent Ukrainians. The repercussions will undoubtedly be devastating."

FRENCH JUNIOR MINISTER FOR EUROPE, BENJAMIN HADDAD:

"Fundamentally, if you want peace, does a decision to suspend arms to Ukraine reinforce peace or does it make it more distant? It makes it more distant, because it only strengthens the hand of the aggressor on the ground, which is Russia," Haddad told France 2.

HEAD OF THE UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO:

"On the surface, this looks really bad. It looks like he is pushing us towards capitulation, meaning (accepting) Russia's demands. To stop aid now means to help Putin."

POLISH DEPUTY DEFENCE MINISTER CEZARY TOMCZYK:

Pausing US military aid for Ukraine is "bad news", Tomczyk told private radio Zet.

THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT:

"The US President and the Hungarian government share the same stance: instead of continuing weapons shipments and the war, a ceasefire and peace talks are needed as soon as possible," said a government spokesman.