(National Interest) Jonathan Schanzer - Libya's internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni accused Turkey last month of sending weapons to his Islamist rivals. Two weeks ago, the acting interior minister claimed that Turkish and Qatari aircraft are flying in and out of the Mitiga air base, which is controlled by the opposing Dawn coalition. Turkey has made no secret about backing the country's Islamists after Gaddafi's fall in 2011, and it openly liaises with the Islamist government in Tripoli. In December 2013, Egypt intercepted four containers of weapons from Turkey destined for Libyan militias. In August 2014, pro-government forces shelled a ship at the Libyan port of Derna carrying a cache of weapons from Turkey. The writer is vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2015-03-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive