Turkey discusses maintaining army in Libya, Afghanistan

23 Dec 2020; MEMO: The Turkish parliament yesterday began discussing a memorandum submitted by the Presidency of the Republic to extend the tasks of Turkish forces in Libya and Afghanistan for an additional 18 months.

The memorandum was submitted to parliament on 12 December and seeks to extend the duties of the armed forces in Libya, for an additional 18 months, as of 2 January.

The Turkish forces in Libya provide humanitarian support as well as military and mine clearance training.

On 27 November 2019, Turkey and Libya signed two memoranda of understandings related to security and military cooperation, as well as unifying maritime jurisdiction in order to protect their rights under the provisions of international law.

As part of the security cooperation agreement, Turkey supports the internationally-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in confronting renegade General Khalifa Haftar's militia, which is supported by Arab and European countries, and seeks to unseat the GNA in the oil-rich country.