Turkey in Libya

In Libya there are two governments that are vying for control of the entire country.  The Government of National Accord (GNA) is recognized by the UN as the legitimate government.  It is based in Tripoli.  The Libyan National Army (LNA) is led by Khalifa Haftar who is considered a renegade because he has no loyalty to the GNA.  The LNA is loyal to an unrecognized government located in Tobruk in eastern Libya.  The LNA recently attacked Tripoli in an effort to overthrow the GNA and unify Libya.  The attack was thwarted by militia groups loyal to the GNA.  The militias were supplied with weapons from Turkey contrary to international law.

Why would Turkey be willing to break international law to become involved in Libya?  There are two reasons.  Politically, there are elements within the GNA which are associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.  President Erdogan of Turkey supports the Muslim Brotherhood.  Economically, Libya is rich in oil and has a strategic location on the southern shore of the Mediterranean.  These are both things that Turkey would like to exploit.  The attached article is from Deutche Welle.

We are watching this because it appears that both Libya and Turkey will have a part the in war of Gog and Magog written about by the prophet Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39.  The ancient name for Libya is Put.  Gomer and Togarmah were both descendants of Noah's son Japheth.  It is possible that Gomer and Beth-togarmah (House of Togarmah) refer to people in the present day country of Turkey.

What is Turkey doing in Libya?

With the civil war still raging in Libya, the fight for the capital, Tripoli, is escalating. A number of other countries are involved in the conflict, among them Turkey, which appears increasingly self-assured in its support for the internationally recognized government in Tripoli.

This government is engaged in a civil war with the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), led by the renegade general, Khalifa Haftar. Ankara's involvement has infuriated the general, and over the past few weeks his attitude toward Turkey has hardened. The LNA has banned commercial flights between the two countries, prohibited Turkish ships from docking on the Libyan coast and threatened to arrest Turkish citizens. Six Turkish citizens were in fact detained for several hours in late June, and were only freed after stern threats from Ankara.

These escalating tensions follow the heavy defeat Haftar suffered when making an advance on Tripoli. A major offensive was launched at the beginning of April, but it failed; shortly afterward, government troops also recaptured the key city of Gharyan in western Libya. These troops were equipped with armored cars and drones supplied by Turkey.

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