Turkish FM stresses dialogue to resolve Libya conflict

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish foreign minister on Tuesday said the recent escalation in Libya should be tackled through dialogue instead of military aggression.

“Unity and solidarity of Libya should be ensured through a conference organized by the UN, not with military intervention,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference alongwith his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

Last Thursday, Khalifa Haftar, a military commander based in eastern Libya, launched military operations with an ambitious campaign to capture the capital Tripoli, where the UN-backed Government of National Accord is headquartered. After initial success, however, the campaign on Monday appeared to have lost momentum.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody, NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power: one in the eastern city of Benghazi, with which Haftar is associated, and another in Tripoli, which has UN support.