A Turkish navy ship pulled into the port of Benghazi, and the next day Turkey’s intelligence chief was on the quay talking to Libya’s eastern military leader. Ibrahim Kalin, director of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), met Khalifa Haftar at Benghazi Port a day after the TCG Kinaliada docked there, TRT World reported.
Turkey’s National Defence Ministry said military delegations from both countries also met during the ship’s visit. Major General Ilkay Altindag led the Turkish side and called on Haftar, whom the ministry described as deputy commander of the Libyan National Army. The ministry posted the details on the Turkish platform NSosyal. Talks focused on possible joint efforts under the goal of “One Libya, One Army.”
Guven Begec, Turkey’s ambassador to Libya, and Serkan Kiramanlioglu, its consul general in Benghazi, sat in on the meeting. It followed a visit by Haftar’s son Saddam to the same ship at the port.
Two governments, one stalled process
Libya still has two rival administrations. One, led by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, was appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022. It controls the east and much of the south. The Dbeibah government in Tripoli controls the west.
The UN mission has spent years working to unify the military through the “5+5” Joint Military Commission, which seats five officers from the west and five from Haftar’s forces in the east. The UN is also mediating separate talks on elections meant to break the political deadlock.
For many Libyans, the hope is that the long-delayed vote will close the transitional period that began with Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow in 2011.
