Assad Joins Forces With Libya’s Hafter to Combat Turkey

East Libya govt will open embassy in Damascus

Jason Ditz 

Posted onMarch 2, 2020CategoriesNewsTagsLibya, Syria, Turkey

While recent generations have shown them reluctant to expand far beyond their borders, in the past few months Turkey has shown interest in overseas military engagements. Forces have been active in northern Syria with an eye toward regime change, and Turkey has also committed to military involvement in Libya.

That’s given Turkey two potential enemies to worry about, and given them each a potential new ally. The Syrian government and Libya’s self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) or Gen. Khalifa Hafter have agreed to cooperation, and a memorandum of understanding to confront Turkish aggression.

The LNA’s adjoining government, the eastern-based Tobruk Parliament, has confirmed it will be opening an embassy in Damascus. This will be the first Libyan embassy in Syria since the 2012 NATO-imposed regime change in Libya.

Since the LNA is heavily backed by much of the Arab world, their newfound alignment with Syria might open up the possibility of a Syrian rapprochement with those countries, most of whom had endorsed regime change in Syria as well. With the Syrian rebels all but wiped out, they may find it’s easier to return to Damascus ties by way of common interests in Libya, and a common enemy in Turkey.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/03/02/assad-joins-forces-with-libyas-hafter-to-combat-turkey/