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Turkey Says Foreign Mercenaries Should Leave Libya, but It Has Accord with Libyan Govt

Pro-Turkish Syrian fighters gather near the Turkish village of Akinci along the border with Syria. File photo: AFP
Pro-Turkish Syrian fighters gather near the Turkish village of Akinci along the border with Syria. File photo: AFP
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Turkey Says Foreign Mercenaries Should Leave Libya, but It Has Accord with Libyan Govt

Pro-Turkish Syrian fighters gather near the Turkish village of Akinci along the border with Syria. File photo: AFP
Pro-Turkish Syrian fighters gather near the Turkish village of Akinci along the border with Syria. File photo: AFP

Turkey and Germany agree that all foreign mercenaries in Libya need to leave the country, but Ankara has a bilateral agreement with the Libyan government for its troops to be stationed there, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Libya would be an "important signal" as both leaders vowed to support the new interim government, a German government spokesman said.

Speaking at a news conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Berlin, Cavusoglu said Turkish troops in Libya were there under agreement with Libya's previous Government of National Accord and should not be confused with the foreign mercenaries stationed there.

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Israel’s Katz Warns of More Lebanon Strikes if Hezbollah Not Disarmed

The rubble of a collapsed building hit by an overnight Israeli airstrike is pictured in the Qaem neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on June 6, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
The rubble of a collapsed building hit by an overnight Israeli airstrike is pictured in the Qaem neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on June 6, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
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Israel’s Katz Warns of More Lebanon Strikes if Hezbollah Not Disarmed

The rubble of a collapsed building hit by an overnight Israeli airstrike is pictured in the Qaem neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on June 6, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
The rubble of a collapsed building hit by an overnight Israeli airstrike is pictured in the Qaem neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs on June 6, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Friday that Israel will keep striking Lebanon until it disarms Hezbollah, a day after Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs.

"There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon, without security for the State of Israel. Agreements must be honored and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force," Katz said in a statement.

On Thursday, Katz in a statement praised the Israeli air force for “perfect execution” of the strikes and said Israel will “continue to enforce the ceasefire rules without any compromise.”

He said Israel holds the “Lebanese government directly responsible for preventing violations of the ceasefire and all terrorist activity" against Israel.”

The strikes marked the first time in more than a month that Israel had struck on the outskirts of the capital and the fourth time since a US-brokered ceasefire agreement ended the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah in November.

Israel posted a warning ahead of the strikes on X announcing that it would hit eight buildings at four locations.

The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began on Oct. 8, 2023 when the Lebanese group began launching rockets across the border in support of Hamas in Gaza. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling and the two were quickly locked in a low-level conflict that continued for nearly a year before escalating into full-scale war in September 2024.