On Thursday, the United States called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian and Turkish military units from Libya. The deadline for the withdrawal expired last Sunday. This withdrawal was determined within the context of the UN-backed ceasefire agreement concluded in October 2020. It was foreseen that foreign troops and mercenaries would retreat.
Speaking on the failure of withdrawals despite the deadline, acting US ambassador to the UN Richard Mills made the call during a UN Security Council meeting on Libya. He expressed that “We call on all external parties, including Russia, Turkey and the UAE, to respect Libyan sovereignty and immediately cease all military intervention in Libya.”
There has been competition between the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and commander Khalifa Haftar since the elections of 2014. In this dispute, Turkey sided with the UN-recognized government while Russia, Egypt and the UAE backed Haftar forces.
In August of last year, the two sides reached a ceasefire agreement. The agreement also includes the departure of all foreign elements from Libya, except for UN forces. The UN officials forecast that there are approximately 20,000 foreign fighters backing the warring sides in Libya. While Turkey has had a military base in Al-Watiya within the scope of the military agreement signed in 2019, the Russian side has consistently denied any connection that frequently alleged itself with mercenaries, particularly the Wagner Group.
