Erdogan and redlines: Turkey failing in Libya after Egyptian ultimatum (3 – 3)

Mahmud al-Batakoshi

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has is being held hostage by redlines drawn him in the past period by influential states in the region.

In Libya, he is incapable of crossing the redline drawn him by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, namely this of Sirte and al-Jufra.

The Turkish president has also failed in achieving his goals in Syria after Russia reined in his ambitions in this Arab country.

The same thing has happened in the East Mediterranean after French President Emmanuel Macron sent naval units to safeguard the Greek coast.

Turning point

Egypt has cut the Turkish president down to size. On June 20 this year, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared the Libyan cities of Sirte and al-Jufra redlines for any of the militias that want to attack eastern Libya.

Since then, nobody dared to cross this redline, including the mercenaries sent to Libya by Turkey.

Ankara has been building military power in Libya for months now. It has sent thousands of mercenaries to the country.

The attack on al-Wattiya airbase which is controlled by the militias of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and Turkey was a turning point for events in Libya.

The destruction of the base coincided with attempts by Turkey to expand its influence in Libya.

The attack on the base demonstrated Turkey’s failure in preventing or expecting it. It also reined Turkey in and sabotaged its plans in Libya.

The destruction of the base also proved the presence of some regional powers that can change the military situation on the ground in Libya at any time.

The attack and the redline drawn by Egypt forced many of the mercenaries sent to Libya by Turkey to leave the country.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, over 5,250 Syrian mercenaries returned to their country from Libya.

The observatory estimated the number of mercenaries sent to Libya by Turkey at 15,000.