Libya conflict

Fidan

Analysis

What's at stake as Libya's eastern parliament approves Turkey maritime deal

Libya's eastern-based parliament's approval of a long-disputed maritime deal with Turkey marks a strategic win for Ankara as Saddam Hifter seeks Turkish backing for his presidential ambitions, according to analysts.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

The Hellenic Navy Roussen or Super Vita class Fast Missile Patrol Boat P 71 HS Ritsos patrols off the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo (Megisti), in the Dodecanese, the furthest south eastern Greek Island, 2 kilometers from the Turkish mainland, on Aug. 28, 2020.

Turkey-Greece cable dispute hits impasse as Ankara insists on prior coordination

Turkey and Greece are increasingly at an impasse over the Great Sea Interconnector project, which aims to link the power grids of Greece and Cyprus and eventually Israel.

US Department of State's senior advisor to the President for Arab and African Affairs Massad Fares Boulos attends a conference for the support of peace and prosperity in the Great Lakes region, in Paris, on October 30, 2025. The international community gathered in Paris on October 30, 2025 to raise awareness about the dire humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes region, aiming to raise hundreds of millions of euros despite a drastic decrease in international aid, particularly from the United States. (Phot

Interview

Trump's Africa adviser denies Libya plan would entrench rival families

The reported unification plan for Libya has been met with pushback in a country torn apart by rival factions and foreign interference.

Saddam Hifter meets with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin

Russia’s Putin hosts Saddam Hifter amid instability in Libya: What to know

Moscow has built a strong relationship with Libya’s eastern camp, as Washington and Ankara pursue efforts to reunify the country’s political and military institutions.

Latest News

Analysis

Libya’s oil revival faces new test as violence returns amid US peace push

Libyan firefighting teams attempt to extinguish a fire at the Zawiya refinery, the second-largest oil refinery in Libya, with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, after a tank belonging to the state-owned Libyan Brega Oil Company was attacked by unknown perpetrators, in Zawiya, Libya, on Aug. 11, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Libya as US-backed unification push gathers pace

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity of Libya, in Tripoli on Aug. 11, 2026.

Turkey's intel chief hosts Libya delegation amid unification push: What to know

Turkish National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin

Analysis

In Libya, maritime dispute could complicate Turkey’s backing of US unity push

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech after a signing ceremony with Libyan Government of National Unity prime minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 12, 2021.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Intel: Trump, Erdogan chat as Libya heats up

US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chatted by phone today as regional tensions threaten to escalate the already volatile situation in Libya.

Members of the "Tripoli Brigade", a militia loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), sit in the back of a pickup truck as they parade through the Martyrs' Square at the centre of the GNA-held Libyan capital Tripoli on July 10, 2020. (Photo by Mahmud TURKIA / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Eastern Libya invites Egypt to intervene against Turkey-backed offensive

Eastern Libya’s parliament passed a motion approving a possible military intervention by neighboring Egypt to stop an offensive by Libya’s Tripoli-based government in the west.

Prime Minister of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj (R) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the GNA's presidential headquarters in the capital Tripoli on June 17, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Is proxy war turning to conventional confrontation in Libya?

Albeit late, Turkey seems to have finally understood the importance of diplomacy in Libya.

US threatens sanctions in bid to restore oil sharing in Libya

The US government raised the specter of sanctions on unspecified parties involved in Libya’s civil war yesterday after Libya’s oil authority accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of obstructing efforts to restore petroleum revenue sharing between the country’s warring sides.

Erdogan: Turkey on path to ‘unstoppable power’ in region

Turkish president throws his lot in again with Russia and Iran in Syria, expands plans for influence in North Africa and moves to convert the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.

BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 19: French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) are pictured during a family picture at the Chancellery on January 19, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. Leaders of nations and organizations linked to the current conflict are meeting to discuss measures towards reaching a consensus between the warring sides and ending hostilities. (Photo by Emmanuele Contini/Getty Images)

Why is France a useful adversary for Turkey?

Although France has the means to hamper Turkey, both in the European Union and Africa, its current strategy often plays into Turkey’s hands, as evidenced by its recent failure to squeeze Turkey through a NATO probe.

This picture taken on June 11, 2020 shows a view of a mural depicting Mohsen al-Kania a commander of forces loyal Libya's eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar drawn on the wall of a detention facility formerly controlled by them, which fell into the control of security forces affiliated with the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA)'s Interior Ministry in the town of Tarhuna, about 65 kilometres southeast of the capital Tripoli. (Photo by Mahmud TURKIA / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian FM says Hifter's forces ready for cease-fire in Libya

Sergey Lavrov said the Tripoli government wants to keep fighting as the war rages on with heavy foreign involvement from Russia, Turkey, Egypt and others.

Supporters of Libyan military strongman Khalika Haftar wave a national flag as they take part in a demonstration in the coastal city of Benghazi in eastern Libya, against Turkish intervention in the country's affairs on February 14, 2020. - Haftar launched an offensive last April to seize the capital Tripoli, the seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
Haftar has the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, among others, while the GNA is mainly supported by Qatar and Tur

Sisi rallies tribes to support Egypt's intervention in Libya war

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced his country’s readiness to intervene militarily in Libya and train tribes there to fight militias allied with the Tripoli-based government. This has raised questions about the impact such a move would have on the battles in Libya.

People wave flags of Libya (R) and Turkey (L) during a demonstration in the Martyrs' Square in the centre of the Libyan capital Tripoli, currently held by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), on June 21, 2020. - The GNA on June 21 denounced Egypt's warning of military intervention in Libya, labelling it a "declaration of war", after the Egyptian President warned that if pro-GNA forces advanced on the strategic city of Sirte -- some 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli -- it could pro

Turkey entrenches further into Libya as rivals strike back

Ankara is set to deepen its military intervention on the side of Libya’s Government of National Accord as it asserts dominance in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean and drums up domestic support for the ruling party.

A car advances past a damaged facility in the Salaheddin district south of the Libyan capital Tripoli, on June 21, 2020, as some residents return to the area after it has been demined. - Since 2015, a power struggle has pitted the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against strongman Khalifa Haftar, who claims legitimacy from an eastern-based elected parliament, and had been trying unsuccessfully to seize the capital since April 2019, until a pro-GNA counter-offensive at the beginning of June

Intel: US pushes Hifter’s Libyan militias to disband

US officials pushed strongman Khalifa Hifter’s Libyan National Army (LNA) to demobilize in a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

Pipes are pictured at Libya's El Sharara oilfield December 3, 2014. Deep in Libya's southern Sahara, men in army uniforms guard a pipeline at the El Sharara oilfield. Hundreds of kilometers to the north, rival fighters turn off the pumps to stop the oil flowing. The standoff over El Sharara illustrates the complex challenge United Nations mediators face in holding together a country heading towards a civil war between factions allied with rival cities scrambling for control. U.N. envoys plan to bring the Li

Intel: Russian mercenaries enter key oil field, Libya oil company says

A convoy of Russian mercenaries entered Libya’s Sharara oil field and met with the facility’s security forces yesterday, the country’s National Oil Corporation said.

Intel: US pushes warring Libya factions to disband militias

US officials pushed Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) to demobilize its militias in virtual meeting this week, the State Department announced today.