Erdogan warns Libya ‘chaos’ may spread

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned yesterday of chaos in Libya unless peace is quickly established, as he hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two leaders inaugurated a new Turkish-German University in Istanbul, where Erdogan expressed his concerns about the Libyan conflict. “If calm is not established as soon as possible, the atmosphere of chaos in Libya will affect all the Mediterranean basin,” he said in a speech.

He called for greater pressure on military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is waging an offensive against the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, which is supported by Turkey. Missile attacks this week on Tripoli’s airport, blamed on Haftar’s forces, show “who is in favour of peace and who is in favour of bloodshed and tears,” Erdogan said. “We hope the international community will not make the mistakes it made in Syria,” he said. World powers have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to find a political solution to the conflict, after years of chaos following the killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Erdogan warns Libya chaos may spread

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned yesterday of chaos in Libya unless peace is quickly established, as he hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two leaders inaugurated a new Turkish-German University in Istanbul, where Erdogan expressed his concerns about the Libyan conflict. If calm is not established as soon as possible, the atmosphere of chaos in Libya will affect all the Mediterranean basin, he said in a speech. He called for greater pressure on military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is waging an offensive against the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, which is supported by Turkey. Missile attacks this week on Tripolis airport, blamed on Haftars forces, show who is in favour of peace and who is in favour of bloodshed and tears, Erdogan said. We hope the international community will not make the mistakes it made in Syria, he said. World powers have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to find a political solution to the conflict, after years of chaos following the killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.