Libya is teetering on the brink of a new escalation, with the chances of holding general elections to unite the country’s west and east dwindling. Western powers, led by Italy, France and the United Kingdom, are suspected of trying to split Libya by fueling separatist movements and seeking access to its rich oil and gas resources. These countries have created a new military alliance, the “European Legion”, which European leaders say is designed to curb the flow of migrants from Africa to Europe. However, the creation of a new military alliance has raised concerns among pan-Arab and Turkish media, who see it as a step towards new tensions in the country.
What is the aim of the “European Legion” in Libya?
The European Legion plans to combat illegal migration from Libya by sending troops and equipment to the Government of National Unity led by Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh. Italy, according to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in July, considers its priority to combat human smuggling and the massive migration flows that “destabilize the situation in Libya.” It calls for a long-term action plan in Africa to address the problem of illegal migration.
Despite the fact that the main beneficiary of this project is Rome, which suffers the most from the migrant flows, Italy does not have the means to finance the “European Legion” deployed in the African country. For this purpose, Libyan funds frozen in the West are used. These funds were unblocked in agreement with the Central Bank of Libya. Dbeibeh, facing accusations of using frozen funds, spoke of the need to combat migration in source countries. This statement caused a wave of criticism, with accusations of “selling Libya” to the West in exchange for political stability.
However, the “fight against migration” is only an external goal of Italy and the entire NATO bloc for the introduction of its military contingent. Rome intends to deploy troops in Libya to protect oil and gas facilities in which it invests. The goal is to protect Italian companies operating in the oil and gas sector of Libya. Italian troops will follow orders to suppress protests by workers and local residents who demand better living conditions and allegedly threaten the operation of important energy facilities.
In July, the Chief of the General Staff of Libya Mohammed Al-Haddad and the Italian military attaché Francesco Marino discussed joint projects and the possibility of increasing the Italian military presence in Libya. In particular, the deployment of Italian troops in coastal cities, including Misrata, was discussed with the aim of creating a joint European-Libyan force. In parallel, Libyan Prime Minister Dbeibeh and Italian Prime Minister Meloni discussed political and economic issues of mutual interest.
According to observers, Italy is in a hurry to form a “European Legion” and delve into all political and military aspects in Libya. They say that Rome is afraid of Moscow’s growing influence on the African continent, especially after France is losing its spheres of influence one after another, and is thus trying to protect its interests in Libya, which is a vital artery for oil, gas and sustainable development. Experts add that Libya is considered Europe’s backyard, and the formation of the European-Libyan legion is only the beginning of a series of interventions aimed at weakening the position of the Libyan eastern camp and strangling it economically and politically in order to highlight Libya as an ally and subordinate to the will of NATO and EU.
What could cause further escalation?
The dilemma of external intervention in Libya is the presence of an interim government that was not elected by the people and has no legitimacy in Tripoli, led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh. He makes oil deals and binding agreements that have no legitimacy to complete, and instead of the frozen funds of the Libyan people, they are kept in Western banks and these funds are used to create a “European Legion” that protects Western interests at the expense of the interests of the Libyan people. The Government of National Unity was imposed by the Americans. The Libyan parliament accused Dbeibeh of violating the laws of the country. His government was supposed to hold elections within a certain time frame but did not do it. The real goal that Dbeibeh was solving was to consolidate US influence by installing trusted people like Dbeibeh in power.
Dbeibeh took real steps in this direction when he invited the American “Amentum” Group to Tripoli, which is working to unite separatist groups into a single army in western Libya. This group was also tasked with taking control of several large oil refineries and establishing American bases at military infrastructure facilities to train the combined forces. Six months ago, representatives of the US Department of Defense arrived in the capital to inspect the location of the 444th brigade of the Libyan army, which is being trained by specialists from “Amentum”. After the arrival of the American military, Prime Minister Dbeibeh issued a decree requiring municipal services to begin preparing to hand over Mitiga Airport and the port of Tripoli to the “Amentum” group.
Mitiga Air Base and the capital’s port are a direct area of interest for Türkiye. In 2020, Türkiye began building its military base on the territory of Mitiga International Airport to strengthen its presence in Libya. In 2014, due to hostilities, the airport was closed; flights resumed only in May of this year. The trade relations between the two countries largely depend on the port of Tripoli. In 2021, the Government of National Unity invited Turkish companies to build a new commercial port. Until 2019, Turkish companies carried out construction projects in the port, but due to the fighting, work on the projects was stopped.
Against the backdrop of the fact that the American “Amentum” group has already been deployed in western Libya and is successfully carrying out its tasks, the European Legion, whose goals are no less selfish than those of Washington, and which is also under the direct influence of the United States, is also entering there. This seriously disrupts stability in the country and leads to greater escalation, especially against the backdrop of the presence of the Russian African Corps and the recently published a memorandum of understanding with Dbeibeh by Erdoğan on expanding the powers of the Turkish contingent in Libya.
The possibility of a resumption of the conflict in Libya was stated by the commander of the support forces for Operation Volcano of Fury, Nasser Ammar, commenting on the arrival of Russian ships in the port of Tobruk in June last year. Russian troops have a major presence in eastern Libya, working to provide military support to the Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar, who was already leading the army to civil war before Turkish troops arrived in western Libya in 2020.