Libya has outsized importance for Turkey's Mediterranean plans
Turkey's hostility to Libyan forces led by Khalifa Hifter is part of an ongoing strategic power struggle in the region.
Turkey isn’t hesitating to escalate the situation in Libya even though the Turkish government is already under pressure on multiple fronts. Why? Ankara's reasoning has to do with issues far larger than Libya itself.
Currently, two rival seats of power are contesting for supremacy in Libya: Tripoli, the seat of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord, and an “interim” government led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter, supported by a parliament based in the eastern city of Tobruk. Hifter leads the Libyan National Army of the Tobruk government and controls much of the country’s eastern and southern regions. Starting in January, the Libyan National Army launched a military campaign in the Libyan south to secure oil fields and eliminate groups that he defined as “criminal gangs.”
At the beginning of March, the Libyan National Army announced it had taken full control of southern Libya after capturing several cities and oil fields. This military offensive angered the Government of National Accord, which has pinned its hopes on Ankara's help, military and otherwise.
Turkey says Hifter is a “warlord” seeking to destabilize the country. The Libyan National Army, in response, has been accusing Turkey of meddling in Libya’s conflict. Turkey is accused of sending Jabhat al-Nusra extremists from Syria to Tripoli to combat the Libyan National Army.
