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Turkish Opposition Defends Journalists over Death Report of Intel Member in Libya

Boy welcoming Turkish troops with their national flag (Reuters)
Boy welcoming Turkish troops with their national flag (Reuters)
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Turkish Opposition Defends Journalists over Death Report of Intel Member in Libya

Boy welcoming Turkish troops with their national flag (Reuters)
Boy welcoming Turkish troops with their national flag (Reuters)

Head of the Republican People's Party‎ (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu demanded the immediate release of journalists detained on the background of reporting the death of Turkish intelligence agent in Libya and his secret burial in Turkey.

Last March, Turkish authorities arrested six journalists for reporting the death of a member of the Turkish Intelligence Service in Libya. A news website also posted a video which it said was for the secret burial ceremony in Manisa, west of Turkey.

Kilicdaroglu, who is head of Turkey’s largest opposition party, strongly condemned the indictment against the journalists who were arrested for “violating the intelligence law” and sentenced between seven to 18 years.

Meanwhile, Turkey called on the international community to take immediate action after the Libyan National Army (LNA) commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced himself as “ruler of Libya.”

Ankara accused Haftar of seeking to “create a military dictatorship” and renewed its support to the Government of National Accord (GNA), chaired by Fayez al-Sarraj.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Haftar's announcement of himself as governor "confirms his rejection of political dialogue and international efforts, including the results of the Berlin Conference, and again shows his goal of establishing a military dictatorship in Libya."

The Foreign Ministry issued a statement indicating that this announcement demonstrated, once again, that Haftar “does not seek a political solution to the crisis in Libya.”

It said Haftar worsened the humanitarian situation with his attacks in Libya, and blocked oil production, water supply, and even "prevented the supply of medical equipment needed by the Libyan people" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement urged the international community to respond to Haftar, who undoubtedly exposed his intention to establish a junta regime in Libya.

It asserted that Turkey will continue to stand by the brotherly Libyan people in defending GNA and all other legitimate institutions of Libya.

Also, Justice and Development (AK) Party accused Haftar of being a coup plotter and asserted Turkey’s continuous support to the GNA.

“Haftar attempted a coup. He tries to give himself some authorities that have no legal basis,” said AK’s spokesman Omer Celik.

Speaking at a press videoconference after the party’s board meeting, Celik stressed that Turkey will stand behind the UN-recognized government and continue to support them for the sake of Libyan people's future.

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Israeli Military Sets up Roadblocks in Southern Lebanon, Announces It Won’t Withdraw by Deadline

This picture taken from Lebanon's southern village of Shaqra on January 25, 2025 shows an Israeli army Merkava main battle tank moving along a road at the entrance of the village of Houla along the border with Israel in south Lebanon. (AFP)
This picture taken from Lebanon's southern village of Shaqra on January 25, 2025 shows an Israeli army Merkava main battle tank moving along a road at the entrance of the village of Houla along the border with Israel in south Lebanon. (AFP)
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Israeli Military Sets up Roadblocks in Southern Lebanon, Announces It Won’t Withdraw by Deadline

This picture taken from Lebanon's southern village of Shaqra on January 25, 2025 shows an Israeli army Merkava main battle tank moving along a road at the entrance of the village of Houla along the border with Israel in south Lebanon. (AFP)
This picture taken from Lebanon's southern village of Shaqra on January 25, 2025 shows an Israeli army Merkava main battle tank moving along a road at the entrance of the village of Houla along the border with Israel in south Lebanon. (AFP)

Israel's military Saturday set up roadblocks across border towns and roads in a strategic valley in southern Lebanon, a day before the deadline for it to withdraw from the area under an agreement that halted its war with the Hezbollah group.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, confirmed that it will not complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday as outlined in the ceasefire agreement.

The deal that went into effect in late November gave both sides 60 days to remove their forces from southern Lebanon and for the Lebanese army to move in and secure the area, along with UN peacekeepers. Israel says Hezbollah and the Lebanese army haven’t met their obligations, while Lebanon accuses the Israeli army of hindering the Lebanese military from taking over.

In a statement Saturday, the Israeli military said the agreement is progressing. But it said in some sectors, “it has been delayed and will take slightly longer.”

The Lebanese military has said that they had deployed in areas following Israeli troops’ withdrawal, and in a statement Saturday accused the Israeli military of “procrastinating” in their withdrawal from other areas.

Washington appears to support an extension of this withdrawal phase.

While Lebanese army soldiers are dispersed across the south’s western sector, Israeli troops remained in control of most of the southeastern sector.

Members of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said Israeli tanks and bulldozers have unexpectedly moved and set up several roadblocks, apparently in an attempt to prevent displaced Lebanese people trying to return to their villages.

In Mais al-Jabal, peacekeepers from a Nepalese battalion watched in their position along the UN-mandated Blue Line as an Israeli jet flew overhead following the sound of what they said was an Israeli controlled demolition of a building.

There are no residents left in that town and the vast majority of the buildings seen by Associated Press journalists were reduced to rubble or pancaked after intense Israeli shelling and airstrikes, following by clashes during its ground invasion. The few that stood had their walls blown out and are badly damaged. The piles of rubble and debris on the road make it impossible for civilian cars to enter the town that once was home to a few thousand people.

The scene is similar in neighboring towns, including Blida and Aitaroun, where almost all the structures have collapsed into mounds of rubble and no residents have returned.

The peacekeepers tried to appeal for permission to move across the roadblocks, but were not authorized to do so. An AP crew that had joined UNIFIL on patrol was stranded as a result.

“There is still a lot of IDF (Israeli army) activity going on in the area,” said Maj. Dinesh Bhandari of UNIFIL’s Nepalese battalion in Mays al-Jabal overlooking the Blue Line. “We are waiting for the deconfliction and then we will support to deploy the LAF (Lebanese army) in that position.”

When asked about weapons belonging to Hezbollah, Bhandari said they had found caches of weapons, munitions and mines in some structures during their patrols.

Israel says it has been taking down the remaining infrastructure left by the Hezbollah, which has a strong military and political presence in the south. Israel since its ground incursion into Lebanon said it also targeted a tunnel network, and has conducted large-scale demolition of buildings in a handful of border towns.

Lebanese officials have complained that the Israeli military is also destroying civilian homes and infrastructure.

In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun pointed to the “destruction of villages adjacent to the southern border and the bulldozing of lands, which will hinder the return of residents to their areas,” according to the state-run National News Agency. France, along with the US, is a guarantor of the ceasefire deal.

Some 112,000 Lebanese remain displaced, out of over 1 million displaced during the war. Large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs were destroyed in Israeli bombardments.