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    Hovsep Chakrian
  • 4 years ago
    • Categories: 2020

Turkish press: Libya starts implementing joint military programs with Turkey, defense minister says

 ISTANBUL POLITICS 
SEP 20, 2020 9:22 PM GMT+3
In this Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 photo, fighters of the 'Shelba' unit, allied with the U.N.-supported Libyan government, prepare for combat at the Salahaddin neighborhood front line in Tripoli, Libya. (AP Photo)

Libya and Turkey have started implementing a series of programs to reconstruct the military in the war-torn country, Defense Minister Salah Eddine al-Namrush said Sunday.

In a statement on Facebook, al-Namrush said they had started implementing the programs, which included the restructuring of the armed forces, air defenses, counterterrorism units, special operations units and the navy.

The first training was expected to be carried out west of the capital Tripoli, the minister said.

The program aims to establish a military in line with international standards.

Back in Aug. 17, al-Namrush had announced that they signed a deal with Turkish and Qatari defense ministers to provide assistance to restructure the military in the country.

The Turkish military will provide assistance to restructuring the Libyan Army into a regular army based on the model that was used in training the Azerbaijani Army.

Turkish military advisers and are expected to provide training and logistical assistance in cooperation with Qatar to reestablish a regular army in Libya.

The Libyan Army is currently an informal amalgamation of militias, tribal soldiers and clansmen. The process by Turkey and Qatar would standardize training and recruitment and make it an official army.

The process is similar to a military training agreement signed by Baku and Ankara in 1993 in the face of Armenian aggression in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Turkish gendarmerie forces provided training and assistance to their Azerbaijani counterparts, while Azerbaijani army staff also spent time in Turkey to receive training. Turkish air force pilots also provided training, and the Azerbaijani military received technical equipment support from Turkey.

In January, Turkey began deploying soldiers to Libya after Parliament approved a motion responding to Libya’s call for Turkish troops.

Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) made a formal request for "air, ground and sea" support from the Turkish military to help fend off an offensive by forces loyal to Haftar, who is attempting to take control of the capital, Tripoli. Turkey supports the GNA, which is also backed by the United Nations, against Hafter's militia and mercenaries.

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