Turkey using Brotherhood to justify its invasion of Libya

Ahmed Adel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan nurtures strong relations with Muslim Brotherhood leaders around the world.

These relations find their roots in the fact that Ankara hosts a large number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and sponsors them financially.

Erdoğan also views Libya as a house of money, thanks to its vast wealth and strategic location. The restive Arab state is important for the implementation of Erdogan’s destructive schemes in the region.

Erdoğan is using his close ties with Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Libya to gain a foothold in Libya. He has hammered out deals with these leaders in order to be able to steal Libya’s wealth.

These leaders include the prime minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj. They also include Ali al-Salabi, al-Sadek al-Gheriani, who is Libya’s former mufti, Fathi Bashagha and others.

Al-Sarraj

Fayez al-Sarraj is an important tool for the implementation of the Turkish-Muslim Brotherhood project in Libya.

He used his illusory legitimacy to sign maritime and military deals that are easing the Turkish invasion of Libya and ensuring the protection of his position.

Al-Sarraj also allowed Erdoğan to transfer thousands of Syrian mercenaries and terrorists to Libya to aid the terrorist militias allied to him fight the Libyan National Army. He considers this a legitimate move. Nevertheless, the same move is turning Libya into a hotspot of international militancy and a meeting point of militants from every part of the world.

The GNA prime minister is also allowing Turkey to steal the oil of his country on Libyan territories and in the Mediterranean. Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa and occupies position no. 9 in the world. It has confirmed reserves of 46.4 billion barrels of oil.

Al-Gheriani

Al-Sadek al-Gheriani is the most important religious figure in Libya. Turkey pins its hopes on his deceptive fatwas (edicts) to justify Turkish military moves in Libya. This man is also Turkey’s weapon for controlling Libya’s wealth and implementing its expansionist project in the region.

Al-Gheriani is known for his radical edicts. He called on Libya to hand over the wealth of their country to Turkey. He also called for giving Turkey the right to drill for Libyan oil and gas.