Akar to his Soldiers in Tripoli: You Tipped the Scales Here and Egypt Has No Right To Do Anything – Al Marsad
Search
Home

Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar praised what he called “the great heroism and sacrifices” of Turkish soldiers and officers serving in Libya during his meeting with dozens of them in a hall at Mitiga base in the capital Tripoli. Turkish Ambassador Sarhan Aksan and the commanders of the air forces operating the drones attended the meeting while no Libyan seems to have been present attending the speech.

(Libya, 4 July 2020) – According to the highlights published by the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Akar stated: “All we have to do here is what our predecessors were doing. We are here to remain until the end. We back our Libyan brothers and will not abandon them. You are the Mohammedan army in Libya and you have fulfilled your duty distinctively. What you are doing here will definitely go down in history.”

“You, the heroes of the Mohammedan army, have been carrying out significant land, sea, and air operations in line with the instructions of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan. You are the loyal ones who continue to perform their duties with great sacrifice and heroism day and night, summer and winter, out of your profound love for our noble nation,” added Akar.

Referring to his presence and theirs in Tripoli, the Turkish Defense Minister said: “We have achieved this due to the instructions, support, confidence, and prayers of our President. It is a matter of pride and he is very proud of you.”

On the steps of his President’s repeated references to the Ottoman legacy, Akar stated: “We have had shared history, culture, understanding, and beliefs with Libya for up to 500 years. We have faced serious difficulties and injustice here and we are here to overcome this. We will do the needful as our predecessors did. We will remain here until the end.”

Akar noted that the Turkish military personnel working abroad not only perform their duties but also represent their country, which imposes additional responsibilities on them. “The putschist Haftar was about to make his dream to control all Libya (the Battle of Tripoli) true, but your contributions tipped the scales. This is not the press reports but rather the academic councils and military circles around the world, which assert the Turks have changed Haftar’s situation since they came here.”

The Turkish minister claimed that they (the Turkish military) started work in Libya based on a letter and an invitation from al-Sarraj to President Erdogan, as well as in accordance with the agreements with the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is the only legitimate representative of Libya, as he put it.

Turkish Minister of Defense accompanied by Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Guler on another visit to the Turkish Operations Room in Mitiga.

Akar pointed out that some countries left al-Sarraj’s government high and dry but are now trying to do something in Cairo, in reference to the Egyptian ceasefire initiative. “This would mean only unlawful intervention in the fighting. Egypt is trying to do something on its own but none of them has the right to do anything. They do not prefer unity and solidarity but rather try to achieve their personal interests and their intentions are clear,” claimed Akar.

Later, Akar and Guler moved to Mitiga Hospital on an inspection tour. The Turkish Ministry of Defense said: “This hospital has been targeted by Haftar’s militia attacks for some time.” However, the Turkish Ministry revealed for the first time that the hospital had Turkish staff claimed to be providing health care.

© Al Marsad English (2020)


Source: Turkish Defense Ministry statement

© All rights reserved 2018