Ankara becoming world’s capital of terrorism

Mahmud al-Batakoshi

Turkey and terrorist militias are two faces of the same coin. Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, continues to support terrorist militias in Libya, at the time neighboring states support the Libyan National Army (LNA), which tries to hold Libya together and bring stability back to it.

The Turkish leader has thrown his full weight behind the Muslim Brotherhood whose militias fight side by side with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, which is led by Fayyez al-Sarraj.

Ankara has moved from secretly supporting the militias to openly fighting side by side with them in the field in the face of the LNA. In this, he desperately attempts to support the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood militia, following the series of blows it sustained in Arab states, including in Egypt.

The Turkish regime uses the Brotherhood to achieve its goal of controlling Libya and stealing its wealth. Muslim Brotherhood members in Libya are strongly connected with the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party.

Ankara has been hosting Libya’s most important terrorists since the start of the crisis in the North Africa state. The Turkish city has also become a main gathering point for the world’s most important terrorists. Muslim Brotherhood figures who played a dubious role in spreading chaos in Libya since the downfall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011 also live in Turkey.

The members of the Benghazi Consultative Council, which was included in a list of terrorist entities, also live in Turkey. They include Tarek Balaam and Ahmed al-Mejbari. In November 2017, British authorities denied both men entry into the UK for involvement in extremism. They then travelled to Turkey which offered them permanent residency.

A large number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders who enjoy protection from the Turkish regime also live in Turkey. These leaders include Mohamed Margham, a member of the former National Congress. Margham asked Turkey previously to militarily interfere in his country against the LNA.

Turkey also offered protection to Libyan warlord Abdel Hakim Belhaj who is wanted by Libyan courts. Belhaji is embroiled in a large number of crimes in Libya.

In September 2018, the Libyan Attorney General issued an order for the arrest of 826 people. All of these people had escaped to Turkey.

Ankara also offers medical treatment to injured members of the terrorist militias fighting the LNA. In January 2017, the Ansar al-Sharia group declared the death of its leader Mohamed al-Zahawi at a hospital in Turkey where he was receiving medical treatment. Al-Zahawi was injured during fighting with the LNA.