TRIPOLI: Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) on Thursday approved the implementation of a military deal with Turkey, paving the way for a bigger role for Ankara in the conflict-hit country.
The GNA cabinet "unanimously approved the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on security and military cooperation between the GNA and the Turkish government signed on November 27," a GNA statement said.
The GNA, which met in the presence of military officials, gave no further details about the terms of the agreement or the assistance Ankara could provide to pro-GNA forces facing an offensive by east Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Libya has been riven by turmoil and division since a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
It has since been split between rival administrations in the east and the west vying for power.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on December 10 that Ankara was ready to send troops to Libya to support the GNA after the deal agreed on November 27 in Istanbul with GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj.
"If Libya makes such a request from us, we can send our personnel there, especially after striking the military security agreement," he said.
According to the United Nations, Turkey has already supplied military equipment to forces loyal to the GNA, including tanks and drones.
Countries including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have thrown military and political weight behind Haftar, who launched an offensive in April to seize Tripoli from the GNA, which is openly supported by Turkey and Qatar.
Libya's GNA says ready to implement military deal with Turkey
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Libya's GNA says ready to implement military deal with Turkey
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wants to see an end to the conflict in Libya
Israeli military says unintentionally struck UN agency truck in Gaza
- “Our teams are taking extraordinary risks every day to keep humanitarian operations and life-sustaining services running,” UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva said in a statement, calling for an investigation into the incident
TEL AVIV: Israel’s military said on Friday that a “firing component” launched by its navy unintentionally struck a fuel truck belonging to a United Nations agency in Gaza the previous day, an incident that prompted the agency to publicly call for a full investigation.
The United Nations Office for Project Services, which oversees fuel distribution in Gaza, said that the empty fuel truck was struck on Thursday around 5 a.m. from the direction of the sea, causing damage to the vehicle. There were no injuries.
“Our teams are taking extraordinary risks every day to keep humanitarian operations and life-sustaining services running,” UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva said in a statement, calling for an investigation into the incident.
“They should not have to do that under fire,” he said.
In response to Reuters questions, the Israeli military said that the incident occurred during defensive naval activity, and that a firing component deviated from its intended trajectory.
The fuel truck sustained “minor damage,” the military said in a statement. The military did not say what type of munitions had been fired, or what had been the navy’s intended target.
“The incident was reviewed, and lessons were learned accordingly,” it said, without providing further details.
The fuel truck had been on its way to the Kerem Shalom crossing when it was struck, and the truck’s movements had been coordinated with Israeli authorities in advance, UNOPS said.
