Turkey resumes mercenary deployment to Libya ahead of Ghadames reconciliation session

Turkey has been accused of sending more mercenaries to Libya despite an agreement between the two rival factions in the Libyan civil war calling for Ankara to withdraw them, MSN reported Sunday.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) of General Khalifa Haftar and the Turkey and U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have been fighting for control of Libya since 2014.

The two groups agreed a ceasefire in October in Geneva, after mediation by the UN. Provisions in the agreement “included the withdrawal of all military units and armed groups from the frontlines, and the departure of mercenaries and foreign fighters from the country,” according to Modern Diplomacy

The House of Representatives, based in Tobruk, is supportive of Haftar’s Libyan National Army, while the High Council of State, based in Tripoli, is part of the GNA and supports its Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

A “reconciliation session’’ is scheduled to take place in the Libyan town of Ghadames between the rival representative bodies of the two governments, following meetings between the two sides in Morocco earlier this year.

According to Morocco World News, “Between September and November, Morocco hosted three sessions of Inter-Libyan Dialogue in Bouznika, near Rabat. The meetings led to “important understandings,” notably agreements on the criteria and mechanisms for appointments to sovereign leadership positions.”

However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that Turkey intends to send more mercenaries from Syrian to Libya in the next week.

The Observatory reported at the end of November that Turkey had sent 18,000 Syrians and 2,500 Tunisians including some child soldiers to fight for the GNA in Libya.

On Wednesday, U.N. Acting Special Representative to Libya Stephanie Williams said that the number of foreign fighters in Libya is “a serious crisis” and “a shocking violation of Libyan sovereignty.”

A spokesperson for the GNA criticised Williams’ remarks on corruption in Libya, saying she needed to show proof to support the allegations.