Turkey’s intervention in Libya, marked heavily by the use of drones, has helped its allies change the balance on the battlefield while fanning tensions with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, the main backers of the opposite side, and sharpening international polarization in the region.
Over the past several weeks, the forces of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, aided by Turkish military coordination and drones, have reversed many of the losses they suffered against Khalifa Hifter’s Libyan National Army in late March. In an offensive called Operation Peace Storm, the Tripoli forces had tried to seize the strategic al-Wattiya air base southwest of Tripoli, but the March 25-26 thrust failed, leading to the loss of a stretch of the coastline all the way to the Tunisian frontier.
