Turkey Has Reservations about Troops Withdrawal from Libya, Says Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel briefs the media after a virtual meeting with federal state governors at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, March 30, 2021. (Reuters)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel briefs the media after a virtual meeting with federal state governors at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, March 30, 2021. (Reuters)
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Turkey Has Reservations about Troops Withdrawal from Libya, Says Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel briefs the media after a virtual meeting with federal state governors at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, March 30, 2021. (Reuters)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel briefs the media after a virtual meeting with federal state governors at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, March 30, 2021. (Reuters)

Turkey has reservations about pulling troops from Libya but Russia has said it was willing to back a reciprocal withdrawal of foreign forces from the north African country, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday.

"There are still some reservations on the Turkish side but the Russia side has acknowledged that it could be done in a reciprocal way," she said.

"The elections on Dec. 24 play a decisive role. The preparations for the elections have to completed in such a way that in the end, the result is accepted."

Merkel was speaking at an international conference on Libya hosted by Paris.

The meeting, which includes the leaders of France, Libya, Germany and Egypt, as well as the U.S. vice president, is aimed at cementing world backing for the planned vote on Dec. 24 and efforts to remove foreign forces.

The elections are envisaged as a key moment in a UN-backed peace process to end a decade of violent chaos that has drawn in regional powers and undermined Mediterranean stability since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Moammar Gaddafi.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a video message to the conference warned that "any party that deliberately undermines or sabotages peace must be held accountable".

Paris initially wanted the leaders of Russia and Turkey to attend. Turkey, which fears France wants to accelerate the departure of Turkish forces from Libya, has joined Moscow in sending lower level representatives.

The former Tripoli government had support from Turkish regular forces in Libya as advisers, and from Syrian fighters, the Turkish government has said.

Diplomats have said Turkey was unlikely to act before there were departures from the east.



Nasrallah’s Bodyguard Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Iran, Hezbollah Says

A supporter of Hezbollah carries a picture of Hezbollah's late leader Hassan Nasrallah during a protest against the Israeli attack on Iran, organized by Hezbollah following Friday prayer in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 20 June 2025. (EPA)
A supporter of Hezbollah carries a picture of Hezbollah's late leader Hassan Nasrallah during a protest against the Israeli attack on Iran, organized by Hezbollah following Friday prayer in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 20 June 2025. (EPA)
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Nasrallah’s Bodyguard Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Iran, Hezbollah Says

A supporter of Hezbollah carries a picture of Hezbollah's late leader Hassan Nasrallah during a protest against the Israeli attack on Iran, organized by Hezbollah following Friday prayer in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 20 June 2025. (EPA)
A supporter of Hezbollah carries a picture of Hezbollah's late leader Hassan Nasrallah during a protest against the Israeli attack on Iran, organized by Hezbollah following Friday prayer in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 20 June 2025. (EPA)

The head of security to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike while in Iran, a Hezbollah official said Saturday.

Abu Ali Khalil, better known as Abu Ali Jawad, was killed after he went to Iran from neighboring Iraq, the official said.

For many years, Abu Ali was seen behind Nasrallah during most of his public appearances.

After Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut suburb in September, his bodyguard was put in charge of his tomb in Beirut.

The Hezbollah official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the airstrike that killed Abu Ali occurred earlier Saturday.