Turkey rejects French call for troop withdrawal from Libya
Summery
A senior Turkish official says the Turkish presence in Libya has helped maintain stability in the North African country.
Explanation
Turkey has rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for foreign powers to withdraw their forces from Libya as part of efforts to turn the page on a decade of conflict. The North African country has been embroiled in a civil war since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the bloodshed attracted competing for Libyan factions as well as foreign powers. Turkey sent troops and pro-Ankara militia units from Syria to prop up the United Nations-recognized government in Tripoli, while Russia and other countries supported the eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar. Macron told an international conference on Libya in Paris on Friday that “Russia and Turkey must withdraw their mercenaries without delay.”
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