(by Massimiliano D'Elia) The Turkish Parliament will meet in extraordinary session on Thursday 2 January at 14, when in Italy it will be 12, to anticipate the vote on President Erdogan's AKP motion authorizing the sending of troops to Libya in support of the government of Fayez al-Sarraj's national agreement against the militia offensive of General Khalifa Haftar. The ordinary reopening of the Grand National Assembly of Ankara after the end of the year holidays was scheduled for January 7th. The text of the motion should arrive in Parliament already today, according to when reported by the Dogan news agency.
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- Erdogan's letter to the Turkish Parliament
A French source, writes Le Monde, said Erdogan has already sent his intelligence officers - already employed in Syria - to manage the nascent military operation. Meanwhile Ankara used irregular forces outside of its pay from the Syrian theater. According to the Syrian opposition researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov: "The death of Turkish soldiers abroad in wars that the population does not support could have influenced Erdogan's popularity." Now Erdogan on January 2nd is looking for the parliamentary seal to send regular troops so as not to suffer any damage to his political image.
Pro-Turkish militias from Syria to Libya
Yesterday the news appeared on the Facebook profile of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA), represented by Fayez al-Serraj who warned local and international journalists not to publish the videos of Syrian rebels who arrived in Tripoli with the support of Turkey . The Presidential Council said the footage would not be authentic, but would be shot in the Idlib province of Syria, without explaining why the fighters claim to be in Libya.
“The free Syrian army is in Libya against Haftar”Says a fighter in the video in question, asking his comrades to remind him of the name of the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA). Furthermore, writes the Libia.it website, the difference in the spoken dialect is clear, anyone who knows the Arabic language clearly recognizes the Libyan accent from the Turkish or Syrian one. At least 1000 fighters would arrive in Libya this week via scheduled flights from Turkey, using civilians as human shields. The airlines have not yet commented on the news and it is unclear why a Libyan Airlines plane landed in Istanbul with no passengers on board on Saturday. Serraj accused pro-Haftar pages and supporters of the national army of spreading fake videos, while civilians strongly confirm that the videos were shot south of Tripoli. The premier's information office also asked journalists in its official statement not to broadcast the videos in question.
The position of France
Some analysts note that Paris's moderate support for Haftar is provided in the hope of a "stabilization" of the Sahel, from where France intends to leave due to the loss of life among its soldiers and due to the cost of the mission of approximately 700 million per year. Then there is Washington's lack of clarity on the Libyan dossier and the impunity of foreign military support in Haftar, in violation of the United Nations embargo on arms deliveries to Libya. The lack of international interest therefore forced Fayez al Serraj to give in to Turkish lure, in consideration of the quality tactical aid Haftar received from Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Senegal.
Italy left alone
Italy also on this occasion was left alone by the European Union which has not yet understood that Italy is Southern Europe. Italy and Europe, therefore, are pushing for a political decision and have approved the sending to Tripoli on 7 January of a delegation of the foreign ministers of Italy, France, Germany and perhaps even England. To do what, since Erdogan's troops will already be on the ground in support of al Serraj on January 3?
Italy alone cannot certainly face, now, a situation that has become tangled and that sees powers such as Russia and Turkey employed directly on the ground without any seal of the international community. In essence, Putin and Erdogan are positioning their flags on a country thriving in energy resources and strategic by geographical position. From there it is possible to open the taps of migratory flows at will, also favoring the flight of jihadists to the West. The expansion of Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean should make our diplomats headed by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio shiver.. Italy with Eni and many other companies has a commercial exchange with Libya of several billions a year, not to mention the implications on offshore exploration in the Mediterranean, after the Libyan-Turkish agreement of last November 27, already active from December 9th. Eni with its various programs and gas pipelines - Greenstream - Eastmed - will not have a bright future with Russia and Turkey wanting to impose their energy market - Turkstream.
Terrorism alert of the 007 Italians
Chiara Giannini in il Giornale revealed that our 007s have raised the alarm: "Jihadists arriving from Tripoli". At risk basilicas and embassies, the classified dossier, writes Giannini, is something that the government is silent on, but that worries Italian intelligence. The Libyan chaos in fact risks making us catapult former militiamen of the Islamic State directly onto the national territory. So much so that at this moment, according to sources close to the services, there are some well-attended subjects.
The coming and going of NGO ships shuttling between the Libyan and Italian coasts is what worries us most. Already with Carola Rackete's Sea Watch 3, the three Libyan torturers then arrested. The danger is that with the reopening of the ports some other thug or terrorist may try to enter Italy. The Interior Ministry already at Christmas issued an order in which he speaks of "the persistence of the international terrorist threat". And he asks the staff to "be made aware of the need to have a vigilant and reactive attitude". The focus is mainly on places of worship.
But there is something more, seen that the eye of the services rests on the Russian, Turkish and US embassies, Watch out for special counterterrorism because of recent events in Libya. On the other hand, Giannini points out, too Luigi Di Maio visiting the Italian contingent in Lebanon last December 23 he said it in no uncertain terms: "A proxy war is underway in Libya, a proxy war, with a strong risk for the presence of "terrorist cells. The pattern is similar to that of the war in neighboring Syria. And here the question is not so much the risk of refugees, but that linked to terrorism, and the risk of terrorist cells ".
So the defense minister, Lorenzo Guerini, which on Christmas Eve, from Erbil, where he celebrated together with the Italian soldiers engaged in Iraq, had clarified it is necessary for Libya a very strong diplomatic initiative that must be taken at European level because solving the Libyan problem through arms has exacerbated the situation. It is a low intensity party conflict and then grew more and more with an increase in risks also for Italy ".
Too bad that the news does not talk about the Libyan dossier and the repercussions for Italy