Turkey Sends More Syrian Mercenaries to Libya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. EPA file photo
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. EPA file photo
TT
20

Turkey Sends More Syrian Mercenaries to Libya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. EPA file photo
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. EPA file photo

Turkey has sent a new batch of Syrian mercenaries to Libya despite local and international demands to withdraw all foreign forces ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for December 24.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 150 mercenaries from the pro-Ankara Libyan National Army, including al-Majd Corps, Sultan Murad and al-Hamza Divisions, arrived in Tripoli on Friday.

This batch was sent to replace the 140 mercenaries who have left Libyan territories back to Syria.

The war monitor accused the Turkish government of deceiving Syrian, regional and international public opinion on its engagement in Libya.

There are currently about 7,000 mercenaries from armed factions loyal to Turkey in Libya, 2,000 of whom have been ordered to return home. There are intentions to keep some of them there to protect the Turkish bases, according to the Observatory.

Turkey sent about 20,000 Syrian mercenaries to Libya after signing the memorandum of understanding on security and military cooperation with the Government of National Accord (GNA) then headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.

In mid-November, Turkey rebuffed French President Emmanuel Macron’s call on foreign powers to remove their forces from Libya as part of efforts to turn a page on a decade of strife.

Macron told an international conference on Libya in Paris that “Russia and Turkey must withdraw their mercenaries without delay.”

The continued Turkish military presence in Libya will help support political stability and security in the country, presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin stressed.

“We are there as a force of stability and to help the Libyan people. And our priority as far as security is concerned is to help the Libyans establish their united Libyan National Army,” he affirmed.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.