Turkey seeks to steal Libya’s resources: Egyptian political analyst

CAIRO, Egypt (North Press) – Turkey’s main goal of their intervention in Libya is to control its oil and other resources, Cairo-based analyst Abdulsatar Hatitah told North-Press on Monday.

“It seems that Turkey is looking for a way to regain money flooding from the Libyan oil fields, especially from the areas to the east of Sirte and Jufrah” Hatitah said.

He added that Turkey is facing a lot of pressure from several countries to adhere to the Berlin decisions, which would weaken Turkish presence in Libya if implemented.   

On January 19, 2020, participants in the Berlin conference on the peace process in Libya unanimously agreed that “a political solution is required to stop the ongoing conflict in Libya, in addition to agreeing on a binding process to guarantee a truce in Libya, stabilize the arms embargo, and ensure the right of Libyans to live in peace," said Hatitah. 

The Libyan political analyst also said that “Turkey has been putting pressure on the Presidential Council, the mercenaries it brought to Libya, and militia leaders in northwestern Libya throughout June and July to initiate an attack on Libyan National Army (LNA) sites in Sirte and Jufrah in order to control the oil fields with the help of the Presidential Council.

"The Turkish regime has been greatly disappointed and confused, and has recently been trying to re-calculate its calculations and re-read its future in Libya." Hatitah said.

Hatitah said, “In short, the Turkish regime was seeking to obtain the combined Libyan wealth for itself, provided that it would redistribute what it wanted to some regional and international parties. However, this did not materialize, because some major countries, including the United States and France, began to worry about Turkish ambitions.

Libya’s capital, Tripoli, has been the scene of fighting for over ten months, starting on 4 April 2019 when General Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), launched an offensive towards Tripoli and against the internationally recognized and UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based there.

Reportedly Turkey and Qatar support the GNA militarily while Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates provide military support to the LNA. The proxy dimension of the Libyan conflict continues to intensify, in breach of UN sanctions.

Accusations have been made that mercenaries of the private but reportedly Kremlin-affiliated Russian military company Wagner Group are also involved on the ground in support of the LNA.