Turkey Brings Together Forces from Tripoli and Benghazi Under One Flag at the EFES 2026 Exercises (original) (raw)

Radio France Internationale highlighted what it described as “bold moves” by Turkey to reach out to both sides of the conflict in Libya. While Ankara continues to support the government in Tripoli, it has extended what is described as an “olive branch” to the authorities in Benghazi, in an effort to bring stability to Libya and expand its influence in the region.

For the first time, Libya witnessed its internationally divided military forces participating under a single flag, as 501 military personnel from Benghazi and Tripoli took part in the EFES 2026 military exercises organized by Turkey.

A Shift in Turkey’s Position

In a report published on Saturday, Radio France quoted Aya Burweila, an expert at the Center for Hellenic and Mediterranean Studies in Athens, as saying: “There needs to be one unified army in Libya, one unified military force. I think these joint exercises help with that. They help facilitate closer cooperation with both sides, and that can only be a good thing.”

Despite Turkey’s continued support for Tripoli over the years, Burweila believes that the joint exercises, which took place in May, represent a new Turkish shift toward opening up to Benghazi.

She added: “This is a huge, practical pivot towards the east [by Turkey]. It has huge implications for Libya’s stability. Turkey’s position now is that it has good relations with both sides,” said Burweila. “It’s not just joint military exercises. There are business interests, there are sales of weapons and drones, and so forth.”

Regarding the memorandum of understanding signed between Turkey and Tripoli in 2019, Burweila said: “I think what lots of Libyans feel is: 'this fight is not our fight. We don't want to be involved in this kind of dispute.' So while this is a big priority for Turkey, it is not a priority for Libyans, and I think everybody there would prefer to kick this can down the road.”

Expanding Turkish Influence in the Eastern Mediterranean

For his part, Jalel Harchaoui of the Royal United Services Institute, believes that Ankara’s efforts to build closer ties with the Benghazi administration, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, are linked to Turkey’s desire to expand its influence in the eastern Mediterranean.

Harchaoui explained that Ankara needs Haftar’s support to enforce a 2019 memorandum of understanding that Turkey signed with the Tripoli administration to create a joint exclusive economic zone in Libyan waters.

He said: “Now, if Ankara wants to enforce it, which it does, it needs to have the Haftar family on board. The Haftar family can deliver on two very necessary things: the parliamentary ratification, because the parliament happens to be controlled by the Haftar family, and also the part of the coast that is involved in this arrangement is eastern Libya, not western Libya.”

However, the exclusive economic zone between Turkey and Libya, believed to contain significant untapped energy reserves, faces strong opposition from Greece and Cyprus, which claim it violates their territorial waters. Egypt and Israel have also expressed similar concerns.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense says it plans to organize more joint military exercises involving military forces from Libya.