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Top Turkish officials received a prominent leader of eastern Libya this week, signaling a significant policy shift in the Libyan civil strife two years after Ankara lent military support to the Tripoli-based government against eastern forces led by Khalifa Hifter.

Aquila Saleh, who heads the eastern-based House of Representatives and is considered an ally of Hifter despite discord between the two, met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and parliament speaker Mustafa Sentop during a visit to AnkaraAug. 1-2. Abdullah al-Lafi, vice chair of Libyas Presidential Council, accompanied him on the trip.

Saleh sought support for the parliament-approved government in the east, noting that holding parliamentary and presidential elections was its priority and Turkeys backing was important to achieve peace and stability in Libya. Sentop, for his part, stressed Turkey saw Libya as an inseparable whole and did not discriminate between regions. The Turkish parliaments Libya Friendship Group is planning a visit to Libya, including the east, he said.

Power struggles have kept Libya fractured since the warring parties sealed a cease-fire deal in 2020. The country ended up with two rival governments after plans to hold elections in December 2021 failed. The Saleh-led parliament appointed a new prime minister Fathi Bashagha in March, but the head of the internationally recognized interim government in Tripoli, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, refused to cede power before elections. Bashagha has been unable to move into Tripoli, prevented by armed groups loyal to Dbeibah.

Saleh has been known for his rejection of two crucial agreements that the now-defunct Government of National Accord signed with Turkey in 2019. The first allowed for the deployment of Turkish troops to train and support Libyan forces, while the second delineated maritime borders between the two countries as Ankara sought to strengthen its hand in gas exploration disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean. Thus, Ankaras embrace of Saleh is underlain by hopes of convincing the House of Representatives to ratify the agreements.

Turkeys invitation to Saleh and his eventual trip to Ankara stemmed from changing dynamics in Libya that have forced the parties to adjust their postures.

Ankara could ill-afford continued hostility with eastern Libya after the opposing parties engaged in talks on forming a unity government and reunifying Libyan institutions under a roadmap resulting from the UN-sponsored agreement they signed in Geneva on Oct. 23, 2020. In a sign of a new beginning, Turkeys parliament created a friendship group to advance ties with its Libyan counterparts in April 2021. And after the emergence of a rival government in eastern Libya, Ankara sought to preserve an appearance of neutrality in the crisis. In fact, neither of the contenders was objectionable to Ankara. Dbeibah was already an ally, while Bashagha, who had worked closely with Turkey while serving as interior minister in Tripoli during the Turkish-backed defense of the capital against Hifters forces in 2019 and 2020, raised hope he could help Ankara reconcile with the east.

Turkeys ambassador to Tripoli, Kenan Yilmaz, met with Saleh in al-Qubah in January and verbally invited him to visit. Later that month, he traveled to Benghazi, Hifters stronghold, accompanied by Turkish businessmen. In his meetings there, Yilmaz discussed a number of prospects, including the return of Turkish entrepreneurs to eastern Libya to finish projects interrupted by the war and assume new ones, the reopening of the Turkish consulate in Benghazi and the resumption of Turkish Airlines flights to the city. In June, the envoy delivered Sentops official invitation to Saleh. Turkey, he said, attributed great importance to the visit in terms of discussing all aspects of our ties and other political issues.

Nevertheless, Turkeys rapprochement with the easterners does not mean it has withdrawn its support for Dbeibah. Such a move, the argument goes, would make it easier for Bashagha to enter Tripoli and take control of the government. Despite having its own agenda in Libya, Turkey has been careful to be in rapport with the United States and Britain. Washington has been pressing for elections without going into debate on which government is the legitimate one. Free and fair elections are the only means to establishing a national government with legitimacy, US Ambassador to Tripoli Richard Norland said after a meeting with Libyas foreign minister last week.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Mohamed Eljarh, director of the consultancy firm Libya Desk, said he had been told by aides of Saleh that Saleh's mission in Ankara [was] very clear: to convince the Turkish government to support and recognize Bashagha. He added, For Saleh, if no progress is achieved on that goal, there will be no progress on any other file, including the constitutional track or elections.

While the prospect of Ankara dumping Dbeibah appears unrealistic at present, Eljarh said, I believe Ankara only continued to recognize and somewhat support Dbeibah as a negotiationand bargaining chip. In his current status, Dbeibah cannot offer much to Turkey. Also, Turkey is very interested in normalizing relations with eastern Libya, and Dbeibah cannot offer them that. Bashagha is better positioned to offer an opening for Turkey in eastern Libya through his alliance with Saleh and Hifter.

And could Saleh step back from his rejection of Ankaras two deals with Tripoli? According to Eljarh, The success of Saleh will depend on what he could offer the Turks, including normalization of relations and the potential for guarantees on respecting the maritime and security agreements signed with Turkey.

Whether Salehs dialogue with Ankara has Hifters blessing remains unclear. There has been speculation that Hifter has reverted to his own plans after Bashaghas failure to assert control in Tripoli and secure access to the central banks coffers and that his relationship with Saleh is deteriorating.

In mid-July, Dbeibah replaced the veteran head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanallah, after which Hifters forces swiftly ended a three-month blockade of several oil fields and terminals. Some media outlets reported claims that Hifters son Saddam and representatives of Dbeibah had secretly struck a deal for Sanallahs removal and the reopening of oil terminals, which would call Hifters support for Bashagha into question.

Asked about Hifters position on Salehs trip to Ankara, Eljarh said, This is not really clear to me, to be honest. Hifter has been playing his own game recently, away from the alliance with Bashagha and Saleh. [Hifter and Dbeibah] made a deal on the NOC, but it is not clear if it will translate into a bigger political deal. So, for now, Hifter is still in the political alliance with Bashagha and Saleh, but also entertaining some cooperation and deals with Dbeibah. Double game.

As for the balance between various militia forces in Tripoli, there have been certain shifts in Bashaghas favor, but Dbeibah being the man controlling the money taps retains the loyalty of groups paid by the Interior Ministry.

On July 21-22, Tripoli was rocked by deadly clashes between the Deterrent Forces, known also as RADA, and the Presidential Guard, both affiliated with government bodies. The fighting resulted in RADA expanding its influence zone. The leader of the Presidential Guard asserted allegiance to Dbeibah, while RADA was noncommittal.

Some believe Bashagha might seize on the clashes to enlist the support of armed forces in Tripoli, including RADA. Interior Minister Khaled Mazen, a former aide of Bashagha, was dismissed for failing to stop the fighting. The 444 Brigade, affiliated with the Defense Ministry, was accused of siding with RADA instead of trying to halt the clashes. Forces from Zintan loyal to Usama Juwaili, a military commander supporting Bashagha, were deployed near Tripoli during the fighting. Back in June, Tripoli saw similar clashes between militia backing Bashagha and those loyal to Dbeibeh.

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After years of hostility, Turkey forges ties with eastern Libya - Al-Monitor

This week is the eleventh anniversary of the date that Libyan rebels armed, trained and supplied by Western countries entered the capital Tripoli under NATO air cover. The fall of Tripoli was a turning point in the conflict which ended with the murder of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as he made his last stand in his hometown Sirte. NATO ended its operations in the North African country but did nothing to counter the militias that it helped to create, and left Libya hostage to the gunmen.

Back in 2011, Western propaganda projected Libya as a potential paradise in the making as soon as Gaddafi was out of the way. Today, Libya is hell for its people and a potential threat to its neighbours.

The game of guns and militias in Libya started as early as late February 2011 when armed groups started to appear on TV screens turning what started as small civilian protests against Gaddafi's government into a NATO-assisted armed rebellion. When NATO ended its operations Libya was hostage to hundreds of armed militias, the groups that NATO backed as "liberators".

After the fighting ended in 2011, hopes were high that the Libyans would settle their differences peacefully and come together to rebuild their country. That never happened, because the hundreds of militias who fought the government with NATO's blessing and air cover, never gave up their weapons and never actually disbanded, except for a few lacking the resources to continue.

As the years went by the militias dominated the country and successive governments failed to fight them due to a lack of resources. While the Libyan army and security apparatus never officially disbanded, many of their cadres were killed, jailed or forced into exile as the NATO-empowered militias took over military and security buildings across Libya.

By 2014 there were hundreds of armed groups operating outside any government control, making the country not only difficult to govern, but also open to foreign terrorists who flocked to Libya as early as 2011 when the local rebels first picked up arms to fight the Gaddafi government. In fact, some Al-Qaeda elements were already in Libya fighting against the Gaddafi government by late February 2011, a claim made by Gaddafi but denied by the West, only to be confirmed later.

READ: Libya: Clashes continue in Tripoli with deaths reported

The West wanted badly to remove Gaddafi, but never cared about what would happen to Libya once the war ended and the militias were still there. Almost no Libyan government since 2011 has made any serious attempts to disarm and disband them. Instead, in different ways, they supported the militias to appease them and avoid their anger. By the end of the second civil war of 2014, armed groups consolidated power and resources to become not only the dominant forces in the country, but also power brokers deciding what kind of government the country should have and who would be allowed to serve in it.

For example, in May 2013, Libya's first elected legislator was forced, at gunpoint, to pass what is called the Political Isolation Law aimed at cleansing the bureaucracy, army and security forces of any elements considered loyal to Gaddafi. In effect, that law deprived Libya of its best cadres in the civilian bureaucracy, and the military and security leadership, handing militia leaders almost full control of public order, security, intelligence and even government decision-making.

When the first comprehensive Libyan Political Agreement was signed in late 2015 in Skhirat, Morocco, the Government of National Accord was created. It was a united government, but already too late to control the militias, let alone disarm them.

Instead of confronting them, the GNA tried to contain the militias and containment has become the standard policy of successive administrations. This policy was translated into the gradual integration of armed groups into the military, security and bureaucratic ranks, thus giving them wider reach and legitimacy to operate under a government label without being accountable to any public body. Most importantly, militias loyal only to their leaders started recruiting new people openly and even advertising jobs with government approval.

By this year, with legitimate government labels, they became so powerful that it was impossible for any government to operate freely. They became richer too, thanks to government payments made to keep them happy.

This is the situation even today. Militias are now involved in what might be called political-military vested interest networks where they are helpful to politicians just as politicians are helpful to them. Indeed there are, now, fewer kidnappings and murders in Tripoli and prevailing fragile security, but this could change at any time.

WATCH: Fuel tanker explosion kills at least 8 in Southern Libya

Since the government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh took office in March last year promising to end the violence, militias have clashed with each other in the capital on at least four occasions. The latest armed clashes took place on 23 July in Misrata, east of Tripoli, just days after similar fighting broke out in the capital itself. In June, fighting erupted between two rival militias, both of which are supposed to be operating under Dbeibeh's government. Every time this happens civilians pay a heavy price, being killed or injured with their homes and businesses damaged.

Will Libya, 11 years after the so called "revolution", get rid of the militias and collect the estimated millions of firearms circulating illegally? This is very unlikely to happen any time soon. Most importantly it will never happen without bloodshed. Major militia groups, particularly in Tripoli, are now big money-making machines for their members. By becoming nominally loyal to the government, any government, they enjoy the legitimacy they once lacked and the legal protection that comes with it. Their crimes against civilians are well documented but they are not held to account. Nowadays, whatever they do is usually justified as being for the public good, such as fighting crime, or for national security.

Over the past 11 years, Libya is a game of guns and militias that has continued unabated. Despite all of their crimes, not a single militia member, let alone militia leader, has ever been questioned or punished for anything.

The idea of eradicating militias and collecting arms by any government, even if democratically elected, is a fantasy. Areas under strongman Khalifa Haftar may be enjoying better security but the fundamental problem of the militias tied to authorities is the same.

This situation is always going to hinder any political initiatives towards stabilising and securing what was once a very secure Libya. Ending this game is a job for the people of Libya, as the past decade has shown that foreign interference only makes things worse. Unfortunately, Libyans will pay a heavy price it if ever happens. There is no end in sight to this deadly game.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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Libya is a game of guns and militias with no end in sight - Middle East Monitor

After the sacking of Mustafa Sanallah, oil companies are willing to cooperate with the Minister of Oil and Gas Mohammed Oun, Libyan media reports have said, citing sources familiar with the issue at the oil sector.

This comes after the Oil and Gas Ministry's cooperation proposals have been snubbed by the ex-chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanallah who had a rift with Oun, the sources said, adding that the Oil Ministry could distribute budgets in the coming days to the oil sector in cooperation with Ministry of Finance for enhanced production.

The report says that communication between oil companies and Oun's office had been on the rise since the appointment of a new board of directors headed by Farhat Bengdara.

"Oil experts believe that cooperation between the Oil Ministry and NOC as well as state sovereignty institutions could have a good impact on the performance of the oil sector." The sources said.

The relationship between the current Ministry of Oil and the former NOC board of directors was at its worst, as the two sides exchanged accusations of obstructing the work of one another. The Minister of Oil and Gas accused the ex-chairman of the NOC, Mustafa Sanallah, of spying and working for foreign countries as well as of placing the interest of foreign oil companies over the interest of the Libyan state.

Oun has been demanding the sacking of Sanallah since June 2021 in repeated letters to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, saying that Sanallah's job as NOC is illegal.

Read more:
Oil companies in Libya want to cooperate with Oil Ministry to increase production - The Libya Observer

On Tuesday, the Libyan authorities announced the release of 63 Egyptian migrants who were detained by human traffickers in a warehouse in the eastern city of Al-Bayda.

The Spokesman for the Anti-Illegal Migration Agency, Hassan Bouakrim said that the migrants had been kidnapped for ransom by smugglers.

He noted that the migrants came to Libya as a transit station to reach Italy. They were deceived by human smugglers who pledged to take them to Italy. They then kidnapped them to blackmail their families and demand a ransom for their release, Bouakrim said.

He added that the migrants were tortured by the smugglers. They were then handed to the Anti-Illegal Immigration branch in the city of Shahat. They will receive medical examinations and will get the necessary medical care, he explained.

Notably, Libya continues to suffer from disappearances, rape, kidnappings, and murder.The country ranked 20th among the insecure countries, according to the Numbeo Crime Index. The war-torn country was rated 62.00 in the crime index, a high rating.

Earlier in July, the Sabratha Security Directorate announced the arrest of a group of migrants who were preparing to travel to Europe by sea.

In a statement, the Directorate indicated that its security patrols were able to raid a den used to smuggle migrants. It added that this was an implementation of the security plan to secure the city during the Eid Al-Adha holiday.

The statement confirmed that legal measures were taken regarding the incident, the smugglers were detained, and are being referred to the competent authorities.

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Dozens of Egyptian Migrants Freed in East Libya - See

Tripoli: In Tripolis Old City, young Libyans weave delicate patterns with threads of silver and gold to create traditional filigree jewellery - reviving an art almost lost through decades of dictatorship and war.

Abdelmajid Zeglam is just 12 years old, but his minutely detailed creations are already selling fast in the streets around a Roman-era archway dedicated to emperor Marcus Aurelius.

I hesitated at first for fear of failing because Im young, but my mum encouraged me, Zeglam said.

He is the youngest of 20 or so students, around half of them female, studying at the Libyan Academy for Traditional Gold and Silver Crafts, in a building that once served as a French consulate to the Ottoman Empire.

Trainees learn about precious metal alloys before studying the art of filigree, in which beads and threads of the precious materials are woven into intricate designs then soldered together to create jewellery.

I love it, Zeglam said. I want to become a petroleum engineer in the mornings and a jeweller in the afternoons.

Mohamed al-Miloudi, a 22-year-old civil engineering student in a baseball cap, said he had not missed a class since signing up in September.

Its a hobby, but Id like to make it into my trade, he said.

The institutes founder, Abdelnasser Aboughress, said filigree jewellery was an ancient tradition in the North African country.

Craftsmen in the medina of Tripoli were trained by Jewish masters and later by Arabs, at the prestigious School of Arts and Trades founded in the late 19th century, he said.

Secret jewellers

But generations of tradition were abruptly halted after Muammar Gaddafi took power in a 1969 coup.

The ruler scrapped the constitution and established his jamahiriya - a medley of socialism, Arab nationalism and tribal patronage.

He also scrapped the private sector, seizing companies and confiscating their assets.

Overnight, self-employed artisans lost everything: their workshops, their livelihoods and their students.

The state reduced Libyan crafts to nothing and forced a generation of young apprentices, who should have taken up the baton, to instead leave the traditional crafts and join the army or become civil servants, said Aboughress.

The 55-year-old was born just a few streets away in the medina, and despite Gaddafis ban, he took up the craft at the age of 15.

Along with his father, for decades he worked in secret on jewellery for trusted clients.

Now, he hopes to pass the craft on to younger generations, as well as fighting back against a tide of lower-quality jewellery imported from Egypt and China (which) has flooded the market.

Aboughress is working on a project to document and preserve as much of this cultural heritage as possible.

People with passion

Student Fatima Boussoua hit out at the practice of selling old Libyan silver jewellery at cheap prices to be exported then melted down.

Its part of Libyas artisanal heritage thats disappearing! she said.

A dentist in her 40s who also teaches at the University of Tripoli, Boussoua has been training at the centre for the past year, hoping to master the craft.

We should be training artists to preserve our heritage, she said. All it needs is people with passion.

While becoming a true expert takes years of training, Aboughresss students are already producing works for sale online or at the centre itself.

That said, he admits the project needs financial help to buy the expensive raw materials - as well as moral support.

He hopes that with enough resources, he will one day be able to set up a string of other workshops across Libya.

Its time to bring this craft back to life, he said.

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Libya traditional jewellery hangs on by silver thread - Gulf News