Turkish military intervention in the Second Libyan Civil War

The Turkish military intervention in the Second Libyan Civil War is an ongoing military intervention by Turkey in support of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya in the Second Libyan Civil War. Military intervention was approved by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 2 January 2020, which passed a one-year mandate to deploy troops to Libya.[24] Turkish military deployments to Libya began on 5 January.[25]

Turkish involvement in the Libyan Civil War
Part of the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign, the Central Libya offensive (2020), and the Russia-Turkey proxy conflict


Top: Territorial map of the Libyan Civil War in January 2020

Bottom: Current territorial map of the Libyan Civil War
  Under the control of the House of Representatives and the Libyan National Army
  Under the control of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and different militias forming the Libya Shield Force
  Controlled by local forces
Date5 January 2020 (2020-01-05) – present
(7 months and 2 weeks)
Location
Libya
Status Ongoing[1]
Belligerents
 Turkey
Syrian Interim Government
In support of:
Government of National Accord

House of Representatives

Commanders and leaders
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Hulusi Akar
Hakan Fidan
Fayez al-Sarraj		 Khalifa Haftar
Aguila Saleh Issa
Units involved

Libyan Army
Turkish Armed Forces

Syrian National Army[11]		 Libyan National Army
Strength
17,300[12]
50 advisors[13]		 30,000
Casualties and losses

2 killed[14]
481 killed[15], 6,000 returned[16] 27 captured,[17] 400+ deserted[18]

500 killed (per LNA)[19]

27 killed (per LNA)[20][21][22]		 100 killed (per Turkey)[23]

Direct Turkish support for the Government of National Accord has generally been on-the-ground advisers providing training and operational support, air support through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),[26] intelligence operatives[27] and support from Turkish Navy vessels for Libyan ground forces.[28] In addition to its own troop and equipment deployments, Turkey has been hiring and transporting Syrian mercenaries from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army to support and bolster the manpower of the GNA since December 2019.[29]

The Turkish military intervention in Libya has been mainly interpreted as an attempt to secure access to resources and maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of its Blue Homeland Doctrine (Turkish: Mavi Vatan), especially following the ratification of the Libya–Turkey maritime deal. Secondary Turkish objectives are believed to include countering Egyptian and Emirati influence in the Middle East and North Africa.[30]

Background

Memorandum of understanding by Turkey and Libya

Libya–Turkey maritime deal
Main articles: Libya–Turkey maritime deal and Aegean dispute

Intervention

Following the approval of the one-year mandate to send troops to Libya, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that Turkish forces had begun to be deployed in the country on 5 January.[25] According to Al-Arabiya, MİT intelligence operatives were the first Turkish assets to arrive in Libya.[31] The LNA claimed to have bombed a Turkish cargo vessel which had been carrying supplies for Turkish-backed forces on 19 February during rocket strikes on the Port of Tripoli, although Turkey denied there having been any Turkish cargo ships at the port.[32] On 25 February, President Erdoğan confirmed two Turkish soldiers had been killed in Libya.[14] He also stated that 100 pro-LNA fighters had been killed in retaliation.[23]

Operation Peace Storm
Main article: 2019–2020 Western Libya campaign

GNA Prime Minister Sarraj announced Operation Peace Storm on 25 March,[33] with Turkish drones and intelligence providing significant backing to the operation.[34][35] On 1 April, a Turkish frigate fired a surface-to-air missile at a LNA drone which had got close to it, which landed in Ajaylat.[36][37] With the support of Turkish drones, GNA forces seized recaptured the coastal towns of Sorman, Sabratha, Ajaylat, Aljmail, Regdalin, Zaltan, and Al Assah on 13 April and successfully re-connected GNA-controlled territory with the Tunisian border. Turkish strikes reportedly caused heavily casualties for forces in the area and destroyed military vehicles that had been provided to pro-Haftar forces by the United Arab Emirates.[38]

In May 2020, Turkish drones reportedly destroyed three Pantsir S-1 systems[39] alongside six others which were destroyed by GNA aircraft and drones.[40]

By 6 June, the GNA had successfully ousted Haftar's forces from the entirety of Tripoli and captured the LNA stronghold of Tarhouna, with Turkey's support considered a significant factor in turning the offensive in the GNA's favour.[41]

However, by the end of June, Egypt the backer of Haftar's warned Turkey and the GNA of military intervention as the GNA attacked Sirte. The GNA government denounces it however and called it a declaration of war.[42][43]

Central Libya clashes
Main article: Central Libya offensive (2020)

On 4 July, unidentified non-Libyan warplanes aligned to the LNA targeted Al-Watiya Air Base. The airstrikes destroyed GNA military equiptement brought by Turkey; including, as MIM-23 Hawk air defenses and KORAL Electronic Warfare System stationed in the base. The Defense Ministry of Turkey acknowledged that the strikes damaged some of their defense systems.[44] Turkish officials stated no one died in the attack and vowed retribution, indicating the attack could have been perpetrated by Emirati Dassault Mirage aircraft.[45]

Involvement of Syrian mercenaries

Turkey first began sending mercenaries hired from Syrian National Army in December 2019, initially sending 300 fighters.[29] As of August 2020, 17,000 Turkish-backed Syrian fighters have been sent to Libya and 471 have been killed.[12][46] According to some sources, the demographic composition of the fighters are mostly Syrian Turkmen.[47][48] Acoording to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, 471 Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries, of whom 34 were children, were killed during the military operation in Tripoli, Misrata, Cyrene, Tarhuna and other areas in Libya.[49] At least 50 fighters were identified as former ISIS members.[50] The Turkish intelligence also transferred more than 2,500 Tunisian ISIS members to Libya to fight alongside the Turkish-backed militias of the Tripoli-based Government of “National Accord” (GNA),[51] from nearly 10,000 jihadist fighters[52]

On 12 April 2020, the LNA claimed to have captured a Turkish-hired mercenary affiliated with the Rojava Peshmerga[53][54] but the Kurdistan Democratic Party denied the fighter was affiliated with the group.[55]

International Reactions

UN-member states
  •  Cyprus - The Cypriot government denounced the deal, and tried to rally other countries in the region to oppose its maritime borders aspect.[56]
  •  Egypt - The Egyptian government, an ally of the Tobruk government, denounced the Turkish-GNA maritime and military deal,[57] foreign minister Sameh Shoukry blasting it as "illegal" in a joint statement on December 5 with French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.[58] Egypt's parliament approved a bill for the deployment of its army to Libya in the name of national security and fighting terrorists.[59]
  •  France - French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian denounced the deal between Ankara and Tripoli in a joint statement with Egypt's foreign minister.[58] President Emmanuel Macron said his country will not permit Turkey's armed interference in Libya and charged Ankara with playing "a dangerous game."[60]
  •  Greece - Greece expelled the Libyan ambassador from Athens, sent two letters of protest to the United Nations over the aspect of maritime borders in the deal, which Greece viewed as infringing on its own sovereignty and endangering regional stability.[61]
  •  Iran - Iranian Foreign minister Javad Zarif said that Libya's sovereignty should be respected and added that "the two countries (ie. Turkey and Iran) shared common views on Libya".[62]
  •  Israel - Acting foreign minister Israel Katz announced Israel's opposition to the maritime border accord between Ankara and Tripoli, and confirmed that the deal was "illegal" according to the Israeli official position, while at the same time noting that Israel does not want a conflict with Turkey.[63] Earlier in the month, the Turkish navy had driven out an Israeli oceanographic research vessel that had been operating with the consent of the Cypriot government in Cypriot waters,.[64] This act, in the context of the deal with the GNA, led to Israeli fears that Turkey aimed to "create a sea border the width of the entire Mediterranean" and cut off Israeli access to international waters via the Mediterranean sea, the channel of 99% of Israeli exports.[65] Energy expert Brenda Schaffer interprets the EastMed pipeline between Israel, Cyprus, and Greece (forecasted to be able to cater to 10% of Europe's gas needs, and decrease reliance on Russia) as a joint attempt to exclude Turkey from the "Club Med" gas club,[66] but the decision to sign the deal was stated to be a response to the Turkish-Libyan deal.[67]
  •  Tunisia - Tunisia rejected the request of Turkey to use its territory for military shipments.[68]
  •  United Arab Emirates - The UAE condemned the decision by Turkey to dispatch its military forces to Libya as a blatant violation of international law. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement such a decision could hinder efforts to achieve stability in Libya and that "Such intervention will constitute a clear threat to Arab national security and will negatively impact stability in the Mediterranean."[69]
  •  Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned “the recent Turkish escalation in Libya.” The statement added that “The kingdom affirms that this Turkish escalation poses a threat to the security and stability in Libya and a threat to Arab and regional security, as it is an interference in the internal affairs of an Arab country in flagrant violation of international principles and covenants.”[70]
  •  Bahrain - Bahrain's foreign ministry denounced Turkey's decision to send military forces to Libya and opposed any foreign meddling in the domestic affairs of Libya. It added that the decision could hinder efforts to regain peace and security throughout Libya.[71]

Supranational organizations
  •  European Union - The European Union rejected the deployment of Turkish troops in Libya, and jointly with foreign ministers of Italy, France, Germany and the UK, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on January 7 for an immediate ceasefire in and around Tripoli.[72] On June 22, 2020, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said, at a summit, that the Turkey speaks the language of strength and has sent thousands of fighters to Libya.[73]
  •  NATO - NATO general secretary Jens Stoltenberg emphasized "that NATO fully supports the work of the United Nations to find a political solution to the crisis and he urged all parties in Libya and members of the international community to support the UN-led process. It was important that all parties respect the UN arms embargo."[74]

Inside Libya
  • House of Representatives—The Tobruk government which as of late 2019 controlled the vast majority of Libyan territories as well as most of Libya's oil fields[75] opposes the maritime deal signed between Turkey and Tripoli which extends Turkish maritime boundaries from the southwest Turkish coast to the coast of Derna and Tobruk.[66] On December 22, the Tobruk government's Libyan National Army seized a Turkish vessel that entered waters under its control,[76] but released it the next day.

See also

References
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