Erdogan’s crimes: Turkish role in supporting terrorism and sedition in Libya (Part 2)

Mahmoud al-Batakoushi

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has committed countless crimes against the defenseless Libyan people, and he was not satisfied with the crimes of his Ottoman ancestors in the country of Omar Mukhtar, as he walked on their path and supported terrorist groups to implement his suspicious plans that perpetuate division and chaos in the region.

The second part of the series “Erdogan’s crimes” talks about the Turkish military moves that restored the atmosphere of war and tension to the Libyan scene and reinforced fears of a plan to abort the UN agreement in preparation for exploding the fighting and torpedoing the political dialogue between Tripoli and Benghazi through Ankara’s tools in Libya to serve its interests and subversive agendas.

The Turkish military leadership recently sent six military cargo planes to Libya loaded with advanced military equipment, including surface-to-air missile platforms and long-range artillery batteries, in addition to large quantities of various warfare ammunition coming from the Turkish base of Merzifon to the Libyan Al-Watiya base, within the framework of the unprecedented air bridge linking Turkey and Libya, bringing the number of cargo flights to 25.

Turkey also pushed six military naval vessels, frigates and battleships to the area between the cities of Misrata and Sirte, after an absence from the region for several months following the ceasefire announced in August between the forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), in a clear challenge to the international community, confirming the Turkish regime’s rejection of the 5+5 agreement, under which the fighting was stopped.

During recent years, the Turkish occupier committed a number of crimes in Libya by sending mercenaries and terrorists, as Libya became a destination for terrorist emirs after Ankara armed militias with the aim of supporting the terrorist Brotherhood after its resounding fall in a number of Arab countries, especially Egypt.

Ankara has embraced the emirs of blood and terrorism since the beginning of the Libyan crisis, along with the leaders of the first row of the Brotherhood, who have had suspicious roles in leading the chaos in Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.

Leaders from the Benghazi Shura Council, designated a terrorist organization, reside in Turkey, most notably Tariq Balam and Ahmed al-Majbari, who were prevented by the British authorities from entering their territories on charges of extremism, but Turkey granted them permanent residency.

In Turkey there are also a number of Brotherhood leaders who enjoy the protection of the Turkish regime, including outgoing member of the General National Congress Muhammad Margham, who had previously called for Turkey’s military intervention in his country against the LNA. Turkey also provided protection to the former leader of the Libyan Fighting Group, Abdul Hakim Belhadj.

The Turkish regime also supported GNA militias with light weapons in order to keep them capable of causing chaos on the ground, because it knows very well that any end to the flow of weapons or chaos created by the militias around the capital, Tripoli, would weaken Turkey’s position and interests on Libyan soil.

Turkey’s dirty role in transferring terrorist groups from Idlib, Syria to Libya is not hidden, and Turkey is also working to smuggle money through the Libyan Wings Company, which was founded by Abdul Hakim Belhaj in Turkey, within the large-scale laundering, transporting and smuggling Libyan money companies to Turkey, which has implemented many trips in the framework of the implementation of that malicious mission.

As for the murders, there was no embarrassment, and the revenge killings amounted to slaughtering to incite terror and fear among the citizens. Terrorist militias also burned homes and facilities in the cities of Sabratha and Surman, slaughtering citizens in the streets of the two towns. To complete the chaos scheme, the militias also released the detained terrorists from the prisons.

Erdogan’s mercenaries and GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj committed crimes against humanity against civilians in the Libyan city of Tarhuna, such that they spread corruption in the city within hours of seizing it.

Turkish and Libyan militias arrested many civilians and looted their properties, and they burned olive farms, shops and cars, forcing hundreds of thousands of citizens to flee towards Ajdabiya and Benghazi for fear of militia retaliation and terror.

The terrorist militias committed a new crime when its members exhumed the graves of LNA martyrs in the city of Tarhuna and burned them as part of a large-scale revenge operation against the city, which has been resisting the Turkish invasion for three months, indicating hatred and prejudice. The militias also targeted the remains of the martyr Mohsen al-Kani, commander of the 9th Infantry Brigade, and others who inflicted heavy losses upon Erdogan’s mercenaries.

Erdogan’s mercenaries have also been involved in killing innocents and orphaning children, widowing women, violating the sanctity of homes, and raping girls in Tripoli. Evidence of this came in the leaked call of a Syrian faction leader with a GNA militia leader demanding to send girls to his militants.