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Barzan Sadiq
@BarzanSadiq
Gunmen assassinate political analyst
@hushamalhashimi
in central #Baghdad - reports
WAR Regional conflict brewing in the Mediterranean
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Barzan Sadiq
@BarzanSadiq
Gunmen assassinate political analyst
@hushamalhashimi
in central #Baghdad - reports
Zagdid
Veteran Member
Rafale attacks on Turkish targets in al-Watiya airbase: Egyptian or French? | Jemai Guesmi | AW
Informed sources told The Arab Weekly that the warplanes that targeted al-Watiya airbase in western Libya were Rafale jets, which limits the identity of the attacking power to France and Egypt, the two countries within the range of the base that possess this type of aircraft.
Rafale attacks on Turkish targets in al-Watiya airbase: Egyptian or French?
Monday 06/07/2020 Written ByJemai Guesmi
TUNIS – Informed sources told The Arab Weekly that the warplanes that targeted al-Watiya airbase in western Libya were Rafale jets, which limits the identity of the attacking power to France and Egypt, the two countries within the range of the base that possess this type of aircraft.
The sources considered the attack a quick response to Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar’s visit to Tripoli, which reflected the extent of Turkish persistence in western Libya.
The Turkish presence in Libya is highly worrisome to both Cairo and Paris, pushing them to raise the tone of their criticism of Ankara. Cairo has threatened to intervene militarily in Libya if the Turkish-backed Tripoli militias tried to advance towards Sirte, while Paris described the Turkish moves as “unacceptable,” stressing that it would not allow this to continue.
But this recent airstrike on al-Watiya air base showed that the red lines in airspace differ from the red lines on land drawn by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Indeed, basing fighter planes and military drones in al-Watiya constitute a direct threat to any army units deployed in Sirte, al-Jufra base and eastern Libya.
Sisi has floated the possibility of his country directly intervening in Libya, pointing out that Egypt “will not allow the conflict in Libya to cross the Sirte line.” He also stressed that, “with regard to Egypt’s security, al-Jufra is a red line that we will not allow any force to cross.”
Egyptian news websites published undated photos of Hawk missile batteries and radars, which they said were among the targets attacked in al-Watiya.
The Libyan National Army (LNA) had withdrawn from al-Watiya base following sustained Turkish air strikes on the base, allowing the Ankara-supported militias of the Tripoli government to take control of the base. Since then, there have been several reports of a plan to convert the place into a Turkish base, a development that France strongly opposes.
According to some news reports, Paris had suggested to convert it into a NATO base.
On Sunday, the Tripoli government accused “a foreign air force” of bombing al-Watiya base, without providing details of the identity of the attacking aircrafts nor of the targets hit.
Although Turkish and Qatari media denied that there were casualties in the bombing, the Libyan source confirmed that the raids caused the deaths of a number of Turkish soldiers who were transferred to the hospital in the town of al-Jamil, near the base.
A retired Libyan army officer residing in the Zintan region revealed to The Arab Weekly that a squadron of fighter planes launched a series of air strikes on al-Watiya base, where Turkey had deployed F-16 fighters, Bayraktar TB2 and Anka-S drones, backed by a MIM-23 Hawk air defence system with its radars.
The retired officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that nine air strikes targeted the al-Nadab quarters at al-Watiya base, which the Turkish military forces on the base had used as their headquarters since last May. Also targeted were Sungur air defence systems, fixed and mobile radar installations and Koral signal jamming system, which the Turkish army units had stationed at al-Watiya base.
Before that, a number of activists in Libyan west coast cities circulated video clips showing a Turkish military convoy loaded with multiple air defence equipment heading towards al-Watiya base located about 140 km southwest of the capital, Tripoli. The Libyan officer described the strikes on Al-Watiya base as a “qualitative air operation.”
From the side of the official Libyan authorities in Tripoli, however, there was no reaction to these air raids that all observers saw as an “unusual” military operation, and one that seems a prelude to coming political changes beyond what is currently prevailing. It opened new gates to curtailing the Turkish expansion in Libya. That expansion has actually began to shrink as a result of regional and international pressures.
Libyan parliament member Ibrahim al-Darsi said that “the air strikes were launched by forces all too well-known to us,” and added that the targets of these attacks were “a clear message and constituted a strong and painful slap in the face of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his proxies in Libya, especially the militia government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.”
Speaking with The Arab Weekly by phone from eastern Libya, al-Darsi said that the messages of these raids “confirm that the Libyan arena is not empty, but includes forces that have the ability to strike hard anywhere and at any time, and their timing is a direct warning to Erdogan, reminding him of the red lines not be crossed, especially after the increase in Turkish movements in Libya, amid reports of preparations for an attack on the city of Sirte and on the base of al-Jufra.”
Turkey had stepped up its provocations in Libya. The attack on al-Watiya came after a two-day visit to Tripoli and Misrata by Akar and Turkish Chief of Staff Yasar Gular, during which they inspected Turkish soldiers and Turkish military operations rooms in the two cities.
Addressing the Turkish soldiers in Libya, Akar said that “putschist Haftar’s dream of controlling all of Libya was about to be achieved, but your contributions have changed the balance of power and put an end to it, and it is not only the press that says this, but decision-making circles and military circles around the world and the international community. They all said the Turks came here and changed the fate of this place, changing by the same token Haftar’s situation.”
Immediately after that, Khalifa Haftar responded to the Turkish defence ministry with a message stating that he was still present and firmly standing, by conducting inspection tours that included a number of camps of the LNA’s combat units in the city of Benghazi, including the Garyounis camp, which hosts more than 1,000 officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
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Libyans won't allow Turkey to fulfil its ambitions: advisor to parliamentary speaker
Ahram Online , Monday 6 Jul 2020
Fathi Al-Marimi, advisor to the speaker of the eastern-based parliament in Libya Aguila Saleh, told Al-Arabiya on Monday that the Libyan people "will not let Turkey fulfil its ambitions" in the war-torn country.
Al-Marimi pointed out that the "Turkish intervention" in Libya took place following a deal with Fayez Al-Sarraj's government, adding the intervention has three objectives that serve the interests of Turkey, not those of the Libyan people.
The objectives, said Al-Marimi, include "stealing the money and wealths of the Libyan people amid the Turkish economy's decline and retreat and currency's collapse,... redrawing borders... (and) taking a share of the Mediterranean waters that it [Turkey] does not deserve."
He viewed the visit of Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar to Tripoli and meetings with his troops in Libya as a "blatant interference" in Libya's internal affairs.
Akar and the Chief of the General Staff Yasar Guler visited Libya on Friday to discuss activities carried out within the scope of the "memorandum of understanding on security and military cooperation,” which was signed last year.
After Akar's visit to Libya, Turkey agreed with Al-Sarraj to establish new training centres for militias in western Libya.
The Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in Tripoli, is backed by Turkish troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries in its war against the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and its leader Khalifa Haftar.
Al-Marimi called on the international community to stop the Turkish intervention that violates international norms and laws.
He stressed that the Libyan parliament and people back Egypt's position on Libya as they oppose "the Turkish attempt to occupy Libya" and their attempts to threaten the red line of Sirte-Jufra.
Last month, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Egypt has a legitimate right to intervene in Libya and ordered the army to be prepared to carry out any mission outside the country if necessary.
He added any intervention by Egypt would mainly be aimed at protecting Egypt’s western border, achieving a ceasefire, and restoring stability and peace in Libya, stressing that crossing the Sirte-Jufra frontline is a “red line” for Egypt.
Al-Marimi revealed that Russia promised to step in -- through its permanent membership in the UN Security Council -- to solve the Libyan crisis and expressed its willingness to open an embassy in Libya, though it will be based in Tunisia, and a consulate in Benghazi.
These developments came during Aguila Saleh's visit to Moscow last week. According to Al-Marimi, Saleh will also visit Switzerland and Italy to explain the ongoing situation in Libya.
Meanwhile, sources told Al-Arabiya on Monday that Turkish intelligence officials were wounded following the LNA air strikes on Al-Watiya air base on Sunday, which was recently captured by the GNA and its Turkish backers. The wounded were transferred to hospitals in Tripoli and Turkey.
Brigadier-General Khaled Al-Mahgoub, an LNA leading commander, told Al-Arabiya that similar strikes on Al-Watiya will soon take place. Al-Mahgoub also said that Turkish radars, military equipment and air defence systems were destroyed during the air strikes.
Turkey, according to sources who spoke to Reuters in June, is negotiating the establishment of two bases -- including one at Watiya -- with the GNA.
Al-Watiya is western Libya's most significant air base.
posted for fair use
english.ahram.org.eg
Ahram Online , Monday 6 Jul 2020
Fathi Al-Marimi, advisor to the speaker of the eastern-based parliament in Libya Aguila Saleh, told Al-Arabiya on Monday that the Libyan people "will not let Turkey fulfil its ambitions" in the war-torn country.
Al-Marimi pointed out that the "Turkish intervention" in Libya took place following a deal with Fayez Al-Sarraj's government, adding the intervention has three objectives that serve the interests of Turkey, not those of the Libyan people.
The objectives, said Al-Marimi, include "stealing the money and wealths of the Libyan people amid the Turkish economy's decline and retreat and currency's collapse,... redrawing borders... (and) taking a share of the Mediterranean waters that it [Turkey] does not deserve."
He viewed the visit of Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar to Tripoli and meetings with his troops in Libya as a "blatant interference" in Libya's internal affairs.
Akar and the Chief of the General Staff Yasar Guler visited Libya on Friday to discuss activities carried out within the scope of the "memorandum of understanding on security and military cooperation,” which was signed last year.
After Akar's visit to Libya, Turkey agreed with Al-Sarraj to establish new training centres for militias in western Libya.
The Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in Tripoli, is backed by Turkish troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries in its war against the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and its leader Khalifa Haftar.
Al-Marimi called on the international community to stop the Turkish intervention that violates international norms and laws.
He stressed that the Libyan parliament and people back Egypt's position on Libya as they oppose "the Turkish attempt to occupy Libya" and their attempts to threaten the red line of Sirte-Jufra.
Last month, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Egypt has a legitimate right to intervene in Libya and ordered the army to be prepared to carry out any mission outside the country if necessary.
He added any intervention by Egypt would mainly be aimed at protecting Egypt’s western border, achieving a ceasefire, and restoring stability and peace in Libya, stressing that crossing the Sirte-Jufra frontline is a “red line” for Egypt.
Al-Marimi revealed that Russia promised to step in -- through its permanent membership in the UN Security Council -- to solve the Libyan crisis and expressed its willingness to open an embassy in Libya, though it will be based in Tunisia, and a consulate in Benghazi.
These developments came during Aguila Saleh's visit to Moscow last week. According to Al-Marimi, Saleh will also visit Switzerland and Italy to explain the ongoing situation in Libya.
Meanwhile, sources told Al-Arabiya on Monday that Turkish intelligence officials were wounded following the LNA air strikes on Al-Watiya air base on Sunday, which was recently captured by the GNA and its Turkish backers. The wounded were transferred to hospitals in Tripoli and Turkey.
Brigadier-General Khaled Al-Mahgoub, an LNA leading commander, told Al-Arabiya that similar strikes on Al-Watiya will soon take place. Al-Mahgoub also said that Turkish radars, military equipment and air defence systems were destroyed during the air strikes.
Turkey, according to sources who spoke to Reuters in June, is negotiating the establishment of two bases -- including one at Watiya -- with the GNA.
Al-Watiya is western Libya's most significant air base.
posted for fair use
Libyans won't allow Turkey to fulfil its ambitions: Advisor to parliamentary speaker - Region - World
Al-Marimi pointed out that Turkish intervention in Libya took place following a deal with Al-Sarraj's government, adding the intervention has 3 objectives that serve the interests of Turkey, not those of the Libyan people
english.ahram.org.eg
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Gerjon | חריו
@Gerjon_
And there it is: first Sentinel-2 imagery of Al Wattiyah Air Base,
#Libya since the Sunday night 'air strike'. Area SW, close to where Turkish air defenses were allegedly recently added, show clear changes (likely damage). Smaller areas in the SE also show changes.
View: https://twitter.com/Gerjon_/status/1280225833295241218?s=20
Southwest Al-Wattiyah,
#Libya, before and after air strike as a GIF:
View: https://twitter.com/Gerjon_/status/1280225838051528704?s=20
Southeast Al-Wattiyah,
#Libya, before and after air strike as a GIF:
Southeast Al-Wattiyah,
#Libya, before and after air strike as a GIF:
View: https://twitter.com/Gerjon_/status/1280226186396827655?s=20
M
@MaximusOrilios
3h
Replying to
@Gerjon_
"Small" damage? That's 100m crater by the scale ,it takes a high yield warhead ~1000lb,to clean the ground like this.
@Gerjon_
And there it is: first Sentinel-2 imagery of Al Wattiyah Air Base,
#Libya since the Sunday night 'air strike'. Area SW, close to where Turkish air defenses were allegedly recently added, show clear changes (likely damage). Smaller areas in the SE also show changes.
View: https://twitter.com/Gerjon_/status/1280225833295241218?s=20
Southwest Al-Wattiyah,
#Libya, before and after air strike as a GIF:
View: https://twitter.com/Gerjon_/status/1280225838051528704?s=20
Southeast Al-Wattiyah,
#Libya, before and after air strike as a GIF:
Southeast Al-Wattiyah,
#Libya, before and after air strike as a GIF:
View: https://twitter.com/Gerjon_/status/1280226186396827655?s=20
M
@MaximusOrilios
3h
Replying to
@Gerjon_
"Small" damage? That's 100m crater by the scale ,it takes a high yield warhead ~1000lb,to clean the ground like this.
Zagdid
Veteran Member
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/acb64be9-819a-4ae2-9612-874eba813659
Germany: Turkey’s 2019 offensive into north Syria not legal under international law
Wladimir van Wilgenburg | 9 hours ago
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The German government has stated, for the first time, that Turkey's so-called "Operation Peace Spring" offensive into northeast Syria last year, targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was not legal according to international law.
Turkey's cross-border military operation against the Syrian Kurdish forces, which Ankara dubbed "Operation Peace Spring," began on October 9. The Turkish offensive has left at least 235 people dead and displaced over 300,000 others, according to Syrian Kurdish officials.
Ankara has claimed that its three military cross-border operations in Syria—Euphrates Shield (August 2016-March 2017), Operation Olive Branch (January 2018-March 2018), and Operation Peace Spring (October 2019)—were in line with the right of self-defense, as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, "to combat international terrorism."
"From the Federal Government's perspective, the Turkish argument is not beyond doubt. With regard to 'Operation Peace Spring,' the Federal Government has announced that it cannot identify any reasons that would legitimize the operation under international law," Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ,) said, in a response to an inquiry from German lawmaker Helin Evrim Sommer, of the left-leaning Die Linke party.
In October 2019, the research service of the German parliament concluded that "Operation Peace Spring" was illegal and Germany had no obligation to support Turkey in its "self-defense," despite Turkey's NATO-membership.
Indeed, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the public broadcaster ZDF that month that the Turkish invasion violated international law.
"Turkey's war policy in Syria and northern Iraq is worse than the corona pandemic," Sommer, a member of Germany's Bundestag and development policy spokesperson for Die Linke, told Kurdistan 24. "It jeopardizes the arduous work of development projects and sabotages the feasibility of the BMZ's 'Emergency COVID-19 Support Program' in the regions concerned."
"As such, it is to be welcomed that the German Federal government has officially admitted for the first time that there are no reasons that would legitimize Turkey's military operations against the democratic self-administration in Northeast Syria/Rojava under international law," she continued.
"It is a diplomatically wrapped, but resounding slap, in the face of the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The German government has basically confirmed that there is no case of self-defense for Turkey."
Ibrahim Murad, the representative of the self-administration of North and East Syria in Germany, in an interview with Kurdistan 24, welcomed Germany's new stance. "For a long time, the government of Germany has not announced such a position on Syria and Turkey's occupation of North and East Syria."
"While we welcome this statement," he continued, "we would like to add that criticism alone is not enough to address Turkish atrocities in Northeastern Syria, their demographic changes in the region, and establishment of a safe haven for radical mercenary groups"—which are basically jihadist groups, ostensibly motivated by Islamic extremism, but, in reality, pursuing a Turkish national agenda.
"The German government, especially after the long years of the Syrian crisis, must play an active role in the UN Security Council and other UN agencies, to take an effective stance against [Turkey's] actions in Syria," he said. "Economic sanctions [by Germany against Turkey] could lessen Turkish violations in Syria, if not completely stop them."
Dr. Flachsbarth also said that Germany will support health projects of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in northeastern Syria with one million euros to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
This includes increasing the capabilities of two healthcare facilities in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor.
As Sommer advised Kurdistan 24, "Given the speed of the pandemic, it is important now to implement the measures on site as quickly as possible in order to help as many people as possible."
"The announced increase in funds for humanitarian aid organizations operating in Northeast Syria and additional projects in the areas of basic health care are an important sign of solidarity with the people of Northeast Syria/Rojava," she continued. "Now the German government needs to move from words to deeds. That would be a clear sign of distancing from the war policy of NATO alliance partner Turkey in Syria."
Germany: Turkey’s 2019 offensive into north Syria not legal under international law
Wladimir van Wilgenburg | 9 hours ago
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The German government has stated, for the first time, that Turkey's so-called "Operation Peace Spring" offensive into northeast Syria last year, targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was not legal according to international law.
Turkey's cross-border military operation against the Syrian Kurdish forces, which Ankara dubbed "Operation Peace Spring," began on October 9. The Turkish offensive has left at least 235 people dead and displaced over 300,000 others, according to Syrian Kurdish officials.
Ankara has claimed that its three military cross-border operations in Syria—Euphrates Shield (August 2016-March 2017), Operation Olive Branch (January 2018-March 2018), and Operation Peace Spring (October 2019)—were in line with the right of self-defense, as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, "to combat international terrorism."
"From the Federal Government's perspective, the Turkish argument is not beyond doubt. With regard to 'Operation Peace Spring,' the Federal Government has announced that it cannot identify any reasons that would legitimize the operation under international law," Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ,) said, in a response to an inquiry from German lawmaker Helin Evrim Sommer, of the left-leaning Die Linke party.
In October 2019, the research service of the German parliament concluded that "Operation Peace Spring" was illegal and Germany had no obligation to support Turkey in its "self-defense," despite Turkey's NATO-membership.
Indeed, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the public broadcaster ZDF that month that the Turkish invasion violated international law.
"Turkey's war policy in Syria and northern Iraq is worse than the corona pandemic," Sommer, a member of Germany's Bundestag and development policy spokesperson for Die Linke, told Kurdistan 24. "It jeopardizes the arduous work of development projects and sabotages the feasibility of the BMZ's 'Emergency COVID-19 Support Program' in the regions concerned."
"As such, it is to be welcomed that the German Federal government has officially admitted for the first time that there are no reasons that would legitimize Turkey's military operations against the democratic self-administration in Northeast Syria/Rojava under international law," she continued.
"It is a diplomatically wrapped, but resounding slap, in the face of the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The German government has basically confirmed that there is no case of self-defense for Turkey."
Ibrahim Murad, the representative of the self-administration of North and East Syria in Germany, in an interview with Kurdistan 24, welcomed Germany's new stance. "For a long time, the government of Germany has not announced such a position on Syria and Turkey's occupation of North and East Syria."
"While we welcome this statement," he continued, "we would like to add that criticism alone is not enough to address Turkish atrocities in Northeastern Syria, their demographic changes in the region, and establishment of a safe haven for radical mercenary groups"—which are basically jihadist groups, ostensibly motivated by Islamic extremism, but, in reality, pursuing a Turkish national agenda.
"The German government, especially after the long years of the Syrian crisis, must play an active role in the UN Security Council and other UN agencies, to take an effective stance against [Turkey's] actions in Syria," he said. "Economic sanctions [by Germany against Turkey] could lessen Turkish violations in Syria, if not completely stop them."
Dr. Flachsbarth also said that Germany will support health projects of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in northeastern Syria with one million euros to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
This includes increasing the capabilities of two healthcare facilities in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor.
As Sommer advised Kurdistan 24, "Given the speed of the pandemic, it is important now to implement the measures on site as quickly as possible in order to help as many people as possible."
"The announced increase in funds for humanitarian aid organizations operating in Northeast Syria and additional projects in the areas of basic health care are an important sign of solidarity with the people of Northeast Syria/Rojava," she continued. "Now the German government needs to move from words to deeds. That would be a clear sign of distancing from the war policy of NATO alliance partner Turkey in Syria."
Plain Jane
Just Plain Jane
France-Turkey tensions mount after NATO naval incident
For France, it was the final straw. For Turkey, it was a misunderstanding. For NATO, it could be a turning point.
www.reuters.com
NEWS
JULY 7, 2020 / 7:51 AM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
France-Turkey tensions mount after NATO naval incident
John Irish, Robin Emmott
5 MIN READ
PARIS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - For France, it was the final straw. For Turkey, it was a misunderstanding. For NATO, it could be a turning point.
The incident unfolded quickly in the eastern Mediterranean on June 10, when a French frigate under NATO command tried to inspect a Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship suspected of smuggling arms to Libya in violation of a U.N. embargo.
The French armed forces ministry, speaking on behalf of the government, said the frigate was harassed by three Turkish navy vessels escorting the cargo ship. A Turkish ship flashed its radar lights and its crew put on bulletproof vests and stood behind their light weapons, it said.
Turkey disputes this. It denies trafficking arms to Libya and says the cargo ship, the Cirkin, was carrying humanitarian aid. It has accused the French navy of aggression.
Turkey’s ambassador to France, Ismail Hakkı Musa, said on July 1 the three Turkish warships were helping NATO enforce the U.N. arms embargo.
NATO ordered an investigation, but its contents are classified and NATO has not commented on its outcome. Two European diplomats told Reuters that France sent a letter to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in early July saying the report did not “correctly establish the facts.”
The U.S. Pentagon declined to comment on the incident.
For France, the incident highlights what many NATO allies see as President Tayyip Erdogan’s tendency to act against the Western alliance’s interests and values.
FRACTURES
After a series of disagreements, from Turkey’s purchase of weapons from Russia to gas drilling operations near Cyprus, France concluded that suspicions of Turkish arms smuggling to Libya were too serious to ignore, four NATO diplomats and officials told Reuters.
France has suspended its participation in NATO’s Mediterranean mission, Sea Guardian, instead offering its assets to a European Union mission that is upholding the U.N. arms embargo but does not involve Turkish ships, diplomats said.
“What do you do when you have a NATO surveillance mission ... and one of those in the alliance is the one doing the trafficking, while saying it is implementing the (U.N.)embargo?” said an official from France’s armed forces ministry, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The United States, frustrated by Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missiles and its military operations in Syria, has been seeking to calm the tensions in NATO, the diplomats said.
Last October, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Turkey was “going in the wrong direction”. While U.S. President Donald Trump enjoys a close relationship with Erdogan, he urged Turkey in May to help de-escalate the Libyan conflict.
The Pentagon “strives to preserve our relationship with Turkey while encouraging the Turkish government to pursue more constructive policies regarding the S-400 and other areas of disagreement,” said U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Campbell, a Pentagon spokesman.
FRENCH DEMANDS
French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly told the European Parliament on July 2 that NATO must make Ankara realise it cannot “violate” NATO rules. But French diplomats also say Paris is not looking to expel Turkey, and NATO has no formal mechanism to punish or expel members.
Still, NATO could threaten to remove assets from Turkey, such as a radar, Patriot missiles or NATO AWACS aircraft.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian wants EU foreign ministers to consider new sanctions on Ankara during a video meeting on July 13.
Slideshow (2 Images)
“The main problem for Europe is Russia. The ambivalence of Turkey, with one foot in each camp, is the troubling factor,” said Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Turkey with the Carnegie Europe think tank.
Turkey has the second-largest military in NATO and gives the alliance a strategic presence, notably on the Black and Mediterranean seas.
“Imagine NATO without Turkey! You would have no NATO,” ambassador Musa said.
France made four concrete demands of NATO in its July letter to Stoltenberg, the contents of which were laid out to Reuters.
It wants all 30 allies to reaffirm commitment to respecting the U.N. arms embargo on Libya, to ensure NATO signals are not used during national missions, to improve coordination between the NATO and EU missions in the Mediterranean, and to avoid similar incidents in the future.
At the last NATO defence ministers’ meeting in late June, via video link, eight countries including Germany, Italy and Spain backed seeking a more cooperative approach from Turkey.
French diplomats cite Turkey signing off on a NATO defence plan for the Baltics and Poland late last month, after holding it up for months, as a first sign of success.
Yet there is a risk of a long-term rift at NATO if Erdogan does not change course, analysts say.
“Turkey considers itself big enough now to be independent from all sides,” Pierini said.
Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington, Editing by Frances Kerry and Timothy Heritage
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
northern watch
TB Fanatic
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passin' thru
Russia says Turkey tested its S-400s on US F-16 jets
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
JULY 8, 2020 16:21
First parts of a Russian S-400 missile defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane at Murted Airport, known as Akinci Air Base, near Ankara, Turkey, July 12, 2019.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The tests last year were already known, so Russia’s agenda of discussing them again may be linked to a wider one.
Turkey, a member of NATO, tested the Russian-made S-400 air defense systemon US-made F-16 jets during a drill in November 2019, Russia’s state media TASS has reported. The use of the S-400 against the F-16s was already reported last year, but the new details from Russian media appear to cement the claim and infer that something more was going on in those tests.
Russiahas an interest in knowing how well its air defense performs against US warplanes. Russia’s S-400 is the top tier of its numerous air defense systems. Some of these systems have been called into question due to mistakes. S-200s used by the Syrian regime shot down a Russian airplane by mistake in 2018. Iranian models of Russian systems have scored big in 2019 with the shoot-down of a US drone, but the Iranians also shot down a civilian jetliner in January.
In Syria there are questions about the radar and reliability of the S-300s and Pantsir and other systems abilities to track modern drones and fifth generational jets. Russia’s Pantsirs were also destroyed by Turkish drones in battles in Idlib and Libya this year.
It is therefore of great importance for Russia to know how the S-400 performed against a NATO member’s F-16s. What Turkey got out of this test is less clear now. Why would Ankara test the S-400 it bought from Russia against its own F-16s, unless it was at the behest of Moscow, wanting to see how it performed? The narrative last year was that Turkey merely wanted to test communications between the platforms so it didn’t shoot down its own jets.
Russia’s TASS media only says that a source close to the Turkish defense industry told TASS that the S-400 was tested on the US-made F-16s. The S-400s are the center a controversy with Washington. By acquiring them for billions of dollars, Turkey has distanced itself from its traditional US ally and become a closer ally of Russia.
The US administration has begged Turkey not to move toward Moscow, with one US senator even suggesting to buy the Russian S-400s from Turkey to please Ankara. What exactly the US would do with S-400s it doesn’t need is unclear – and it is unclear if Moscow would let the technology be floated on a barge over to the US to be picked apart by US engineers.
Russia’s reasoning for bringing up the November tests this week is also unclear. Turkey got the S-400s in July 2019. It began to test them in November and they were supposed to be operational in April 2020. But they don’t seem to be operational yet. This raises questions about what was the overall point of Turkey spending billions on air defense it doesn’t need. For Russia, the point seems to be its desire to bring this up as part of an attempt to sink any questions about Turkey and the US working more closely.
posted for fair use
m.jpost.com
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
JULY 8, 2020 16:21
First parts of a Russian S-400 missile defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane at Murted Airport, known as Akinci Air Base, near Ankara, Turkey, July 12, 2019.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The tests last year were already known, so Russia’s agenda of discussing them again may be linked to a wider one.
Turkey, a member of NATO, tested the Russian-made S-400 air defense systemon US-made F-16 jets during a drill in November 2019, Russia’s state media TASS has reported. The use of the S-400 against the F-16s was already reported last year, but the new details from Russian media appear to cement the claim and infer that something more was going on in those tests.
Russiahas an interest in knowing how well its air defense performs against US warplanes. Russia’s S-400 is the top tier of its numerous air defense systems. Some of these systems have been called into question due to mistakes. S-200s used by the Syrian regime shot down a Russian airplane by mistake in 2018. Iranian models of Russian systems have scored big in 2019 with the shoot-down of a US drone, but the Iranians also shot down a civilian jetliner in January.
In Syria there are questions about the radar and reliability of the S-300s and Pantsir and other systems abilities to track modern drones and fifth generational jets. Russia’s Pantsirs were also destroyed by Turkish drones in battles in Idlib and Libya this year.
It is therefore of great importance for Russia to know how the S-400 performed against a NATO member’s F-16s. What Turkey got out of this test is less clear now. Why would Ankara test the S-400 it bought from Russia against its own F-16s, unless it was at the behest of Moscow, wanting to see how it performed? The narrative last year was that Turkey merely wanted to test communications between the platforms so it didn’t shoot down its own jets.
Russia’s TASS media only says that a source close to the Turkish defense industry told TASS that the S-400 was tested on the US-made F-16s. The S-400s are the center a controversy with Washington. By acquiring them for billions of dollars, Turkey has distanced itself from its traditional US ally and become a closer ally of Russia.
The US administration has begged Turkey not to move toward Moscow, with one US senator even suggesting to buy the Russian S-400s from Turkey to please Ankara. What exactly the US would do with S-400s it doesn’t need is unclear – and it is unclear if Moscow would let the technology be floated on a barge over to the US to be picked apart by US engineers.
Russia’s reasoning for bringing up the November tests this week is also unclear. Turkey got the S-400s in July 2019. It began to test them in November and they were supposed to be operational in April 2020. But they don’t seem to be operational yet. This raises questions about what was the overall point of Turkey spending billions on air defense it doesn’t need. For Russia, the point seems to be its desire to bring this up as part of an attempt to sink any questions about Turkey and the US working more closely.
posted for fair use
Russia says Turkey tested its S-400s on US F-16 jets
The tests last year were already known, so Russia’s agenda of discussing them again may be linked to a wider one.
m.jpost.com
jward
passin' thru
Please feel to smack my hand if this is not a credible source: I know the standard is to stick to legitimate news and actual news content. . .
but I went ahead and included the article in it's totality... j
Russia’s Involvement in Libya Gains Traction as 300 Syrian Forces are Deployed
Russia is sending hundreds of troops from Syria down to Libya; Theses forces are reported to be backing Khalifa Haftar’s resistance; Russia is also reported to be occupying an oil field in Libya via a Russian security company.
According to several reports, Russia is in the process of sending 300 Syrian soldiers from eastern Syria to Libya in an attempt to further back Khalifa Haftar and his forces. Haftar leads the Libyan National Army (LNA) and is attempting to overthrow the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) being led by Fayez al-Sarraj.
The fighters that are being sent belong to different brigades and Iran’s notorious Quds Force, which is a subdivision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that often handles clandestine operations. Those being sent are under contract with Moscow and will be paid for their time in Libya.
Just last month, the LNA announced that 11 Russian planes had landed at the Sirte Airport carrying multiple Syrian forces and weaponry.
According to Libya’s national oil company, Russian security forces also made their way into the Sidra Oil Port nearly a month ago and are seeking to turn it into a military post. This Russian security company is called Wagner’s, and the Sidra oilfields are said to account for more than half of Libya’s oil supply.
Over the last several years, Russia’s involvement in the Middle East has grown in an unprecedented manner; most notably, in Syria, where they’re joined by Turkey and Iran. Additionally, Russia has made military agreements with Sudan and their involvement in Libya is gaining speed.
It’s reasonable to ask; What is it about this region of the world that that has Russia’s undivided attention? Is it perhaps the oil? Interestingly enough, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, if nothing else, all share one thing in common – their economies are being devastated. It’s worth noting as well that the countries where Russia is becoming more involved all have a role in a future invasion of Israel.
Ezekiel 38:1-13
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you. 7 “‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.” 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?”’
July 8th, 2020|News
posted for fair use
beholdisrael.org
but I went ahead and included the article in it's totality... j
Russia’s Involvement in Libya Gains Traction as 300 Syrian Forces are Deployed
Russia is sending hundreds of troops from Syria down to Libya; Theses forces are reported to be backing Khalifa Haftar’s resistance; Russia is also reported to be occupying an oil field in Libya via a Russian security company.
According to several reports, Russia is in the process of sending 300 Syrian soldiers from eastern Syria to Libya in an attempt to further back Khalifa Haftar and his forces. Haftar leads the Libyan National Army (LNA) and is attempting to overthrow the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) being led by Fayez al-Sarraj.
The fighters that are being sent belong to different brigades and Iran’s notorious Quds Force, which is a subdivision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that often handles clandestine operations. Those being sent are under contract with Moscow and will be paid for their time in Libya.
Just last month, the LNA announced that 11 Russian planes had landed at the Sirte Airport carrying multiple Syrian forces and weaponry.
According to Libya’s national oil company, Russian security forces also made their way into the Sidra Oil Port nearly a month ago and are seeking to turn it into a military post. This Russian security company is called Wagner’s, and the Sidra oilfields are said to account for more than half of Libya’s oil supply.
Over the last several years, Russia’s involvement in the Middle East has grown in an unprecedented manner; most notably, in Syria, where they’re joined by Turkey and Iran. Additionally, Russia has made military agreements with Sudan and their involvement in Libya is gaining speed.
It’s reasonable to ask; What is it about this region of the world that that has Russia’s undivided attention? Is it perhaps the oil? Interestingly enough, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, if nothing else, all share one thing in common – their economies are being devastated. It’s worth noting as well that the countries where Russia is becoming more involved all have a role in a future invasion of Israel.
Ezekiel 38:1-13
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you. 7 “‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.” 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?”’
July 8th, 2020|News
posted for fair use
Russia’s Involvement in Libya Gains Traction as 300 Syrian Forces are Deployed - Behold Israel
Russia is sending hundreds of troops from Syria down to Libya; Theses forces are reported to be backing Khalifa Haftar’s resistance; Russia is also reported […]
beholdisrael.org
jward
passin' thru
Faytuks News
@Faytuks
2m
"Two weeks ago, the United States and its Joint Forces seized a boat carrying weapons from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen,"; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
@Faytuks
2m
"Two weeks ago, the United States and its Joint Forces seized a boat carrying weapons from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen,"; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Zagdid
Veteran Member
Egypt to challenge Turkey with large-scale exercise near Libyan border: media
BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:30 P.M.) - The Egyptian media announced that the Egyptian Army is preparing to implement a military maneuver near the Libyan border
www.almasdarnews.com
Egypt to challenge Turkey with large-scale exercise near Libyan border: media
By News Desk - 2020-07-09
BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:30 P.M.) – The Egyptian media announced that the Egyptian Army is preparing to implement a military maneuver near the Libyan border called “Decisive 2020”, which is a response to Turkey’s announcement about a new exercise n the Mediterranean.
The Egyptian channel “Cairo and People” (Al-Qahira w Al-Nas) said in a post on Twitter, that the Egyptian armed forces, with their main branches, are carrying out the Decisive 2020 maneuver at the western border, and this means that the maneuvers are close to Libya.
The Egyptian military maneuvers come one day after the Turkish naval forces announced that they will hold huge naval exercises off the Libyan coast during the coming period.
Turkish media quoted the Turkish Navy as saying that the expected maneuvers would be called “Naftex”, and would take place off the Libyan coast in 3 different regions, and each would bear a special name, which is “Barbaros”, “Targot Rais” and “Chaka Bay”.
Turkish media revealed that these maneuvers will take place soon, and that they are training in anticipation of war in the eastern Mediterranean, in addition to what has been described as the escalating tensions in Libya in the recent period.
Egypt and Turkey currently back the two opposing parties in Libya, with the latter directly involved in ground operations inside the country.
Zagdid
Veteran Member
Russian Navy Has Deployed Marine Mammals In Syrian Civil War - Naval News
The Russian Navy appears to have deployed marine mammals in Syria during the civil war two years ago. H I Sutton has the story.
www.navalnews.com
Russian Navy Has Deployed Marine Mammals In Syrian Civil War
H I Sutton 10 Jul 2020
Open source intelligence (OSINT) reveals that Marine Mammal pens were present at the Russian Navy’s base in Tartus, Syria, for a period in 2018. The deployment does not appear to have been reported previously. The mammals were likely part of anti-diver defenses at the base, which is the a crucial logistics hub for Russian forces operating in the country.
Two rectangular pens are clearly visible on commercial satellite imagery between September and December 2018. Based on the size of the pens the mammals involved were most likely seals. Dolphin pens are normally larger and octagonal in shape. The same goes for the Beluga whales used in colder waters such as the one which found itself in Norway in April 2019. The Russian Navy is known to train seals for anti-diver missions, but exact details of the current inventory of marine mammals is unclear.
There is a lot for Russia to protect in Tartus. It is their only naval base in Syria and more generally, the Mediterranean. Virtually all of the Bosporus Express traffic of arms and equipment is heading there. And it is the home port of the permanent Mediterranean squadron, known as the 5th Operational Squadron. This has warships and even submarines, although their deployment there is complicated by the Montreux Convention which was intended, in part, to stop submarines being deployed between the Black Sea and Mediterranean. This hasn’t stopped Russia deploying its Black Sea Fleet subs to Tartus however.
The exact location of the pens, on the end of the main military quay, is actually a spot within the Syrian Navy’s area. However the berths there are generally used by Russian forces and the pens were flanked by Russian naval vessels. So combined with what is known of Russia’s marine mammal program infrastructure, there seems little doubt that it was a Russian deployment.
It is not clear why the mammal deployment only lasted a few months. Possibly their mission may have been specific or of a fixed duration. Or maybe it was experimental, to build up the Russian Navy’s resurgent marine mammal program’s capabilities. Or the deployment was not considered a success and was abandoned.
Hummm.....
Posted for fair use.....
www.al-monitor.com
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.
Fehim Tastekin
@fehimtastekin
Topics covered
NATO
Armed Militias and Extremist Groups
Libya conflict
Jul 10, 2020
The first round in the Turkish-French confrontation over Libya, coming atop the energy row in the eastern Mediterranean, resulted in Ankara’s favor. In early July, a furious France pulled out from a NATO security mission in the Mediterranean after a NATO investigation did not back its allegations that two Turkish frigates harassed a French warship as it sought to inspect a vessel suspected of carrying weapons to Libya last month.
As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan savored the outcome of the investigation, many in Ankara were quick to conclude that French power was in decline. Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency has said that France lacks coherent strategies and tools to exert influence in the region, struggles to get support from other European heavyweights, is still haunted by its army’s “debacle” in World War II and “cannot stomach” Turkey’s military capabilities. The argument goes that France is trying to pit Turkey against Russia, while also hoping for a Turkish-Egyptian war in Libya.
A main point of strength for Turkey in Libya is that it backs the UN-recognized government in Tripoli. France, for its part, accuses Turkey of using Islamist militants, drawing mostly on the notion of fighting terrorism. But due to diverging priorities, France has failed to impress its Western partners, many of whom have not even made an issue of Turkey’s transfer of Syrian jihadis to Libya.
France’s essential misfortune in Libya stems from falling on the same side with Russia. It has ended up largely isolated in NATO as Washington came to prioritize the prevention of Russian entrenchment in Libya after initially winking at Khalifa Hifter, the leader of the eastern forces, and sympathizing with Egypt’s concerns over the Muslim Brotherhood. Russia entered the game after France had already put its bets on Hifter. Ostensibly, everyone was investing in a “secular” alternative that would defeat the Islamists. France could have hardly foreseen that Turkey would intervene directly on the side of the Tripoli government, linking the conflict to the energy rivalry in the eastern Mediterranean, and that Washington would come to back Ankara.
Paradoxically, Erdogan is able to posture as a defender of NATO against French President Emmanuel Macron, who argues the alliance is “brain dead,” never mind that Turkey has bought Russian air defense systems and blocked implementation of a NATO defense plan for eastern Europe in an attempt to force its allies to blacklist the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a terrorist group.
Second, Erdogan has used the French colonial past in Africa in a full-blast effort to promote Ankara’s own efforts to open up to the continent. He has had no qualms about raking over the coals of colonialism during trips to Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Gabon and Niger in recent years.
Also, Erdogan has skillfully portrayed France as a “destructive” actor in Libya, referencing the French lead in the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya, never mind that the Turkish city of Izmir was the headquarters of the campaign.
Furthermore, Erdogan accuses France of “supporting terrorism” over its backing for the Syrian Kurds. Washington’s partnership with the YPG has been at a much greater level, but Ankara’s criticism of Washington has had a reverse gear.
Still, the Turkish tendency to downplay France’s clout is mistaken. After its failure to squeeze Turkey at NATO, France unfolded its European Union cards, calling a July 13 meeting to discuss Ankara’s actions in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean and consider sanctions.
The EU’s own divergences, however, keep the bloc from applying strong pressure on Turkey. The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic also stands in the way of assertive foreign policies. Plus, many EU members are not at ease with France falling on the same side with Russia in Libya.
Domestic politics are another factor weakening France’s profile on the foreign policy track. Macron reshuffled the government this week after his party took a drubbing in local elections in late June, atop the blows of the coronavirus pandemic, the “yellow vests” riots and trade union protests.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country took over the EU presidency this month, has other priorities such as the trade dossiers with China and the United States, overcoming the pandemic damage, appeasing disenchanted members such as Italy and Spain and weathering Brexit smoothly. She might consider a second Berlin conference on Libya, but seeks to avoid losing her real focus to the French-Turkish score-settling.
Yet such downsides for France do not mean that things will be easy for Turkey. Erdogan’s Libyan venture is the most staggering episode in his dreams of a return to Africa. In this context, France’s aversion to a Turkish comeback is rather different from its rivalries with China, India and the United States, to which France has been losing the African market. Erdogan’s Africa opening, fraught as it is with anti-colonial narratives, is seen as a score-settling attempt by the French; hence they are unlikely to stand by with folded arms.
Indeed, Paris has the means to hamper Turkey in Africa, where France holds permanent military bases in Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Gabon and Senegal and has run counterterror operations in Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad since 2014. France has close ties with Tunisia and Algeria, two important neighbors of Libya. During a June visit to Paris, Tunisia’s president pleased his hosts, saying the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord in Libya had only “a temporary legitimacy” and should be replaced with “a new legitimate government.”
To impede Turkey, France is likely to spearhead moves within the EU as well. France, Greece, Cyprus and Austria have already proved their skill in teaming up to hamper Turkey. The EU has thus far excluded Turkey from its travel reopening, dealing Ankara a major blow as it grapples with a hard-currency crunch and hopes for the return of European tourists to boost its revenues. Ankara sees its exclusion as a political move, arguing that its pandemic record is better than many in Europe. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu traveled to Berlin last week to seek a breakthrough on tourism, but to no avail.
The EU’s refugee deal with Turkey remains important for Merkel, but the general European sentiment toward Turkey keeps deteriorating. Volkswagen’s decision to drop a major investment plan in Turkey despite lavish government incentives is not an ordinary event. It shows that even Merkel could do little for Turkey as she tries to prevent the EU from drifting into a big schism over Turkey. On July 6, German politicians attending an online meeting organized by Erdogan’s party signaled that Ankara could hardly hope for a new page with the EU because of its worsening record on democracy and the rule of law.
Back to Libya, a core point of contention between France and Turkey is about which country is violating the UN arms embargo. According to French sources, French assistance for Hifter has been limited to a few missile batteries and intelligence agents, sent prior to 2017, unlike the extensive military, technical and militia support that Ankara has provided to the Tripoli forces. As the researcher Jalel Harchaoui puts it, Paris shares the Egyptian and Emirati intolerance for political Islam, and even if it did not get involved in the conflict as much as the Russians, it provided a “diplomatic veneer” to Hifter.
As Turkish and Russian involvement grew, the scenario of Libya becoming an influence-sharing ground for Turkey and Russia has emerged as an unsettling prospect for France, which it describes as “the Syrianization of Libya.”
France is now compelled to look for alternatives. Because sidelining Turkey and Russia simultaneously is impossible, the French have timidly moved to communicate with the head of the Government of National Accord, while trying to convince the EU and the United States to readjust their postures.
In any case, Libya is not a place where either of the sides could bring peace by ignoring the other. The country has a coastline of 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) on the Mediterranean, land borders of 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) with six neighbors and oil and gas partnerships with international companies. Turkey’s intervention to secure Tripoli, Egypt’s declaration of Sirte as a “red line” in collaboration with Russia and France and the rifts in NATO and the EU are all pointing to one way out — a negotiating table where the Libyans decide Libya’s future.
More from Fehim Tastekin
Baghdad's row with Ankara could benefit each side
Jul 8, 2020
Is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham doing Turkey’s job in Idlib?
Jun 28, 2020
Why is Sirte everyone’s ‘red line’ in Libya?
Jun 20, 2020
Read more: Why is France a useful adversary for Turkey?
Posted for fair use.....
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.
www.al-monitor.com
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.
Fehim Tastekin
@fehimtastekin
Topics covered
NATO
Armed Militias and Extremist Groups
Libya conflict
Jul 10, 2020
The first round in the Turkish-French confrontation over Libya, coming atop the energy row in the eastern Mediterranean, resulted in Ankara’s favor. In early July, a furious France pulled out from a NATO security mission in the Mediterranean after a NATO investigation did not back its allegations that two Turkish frigates harassed a French warship as it sought to inspect a vessel suspected of carrying weapons to Libya last month.
As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan savored the outcome of the investigation, many in Ankara were quick to conclude that French power was in decline. Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency has said that France lacks coherent strategies and tools to exert influence in the region, struggles to get support from other European heavyweights, is still haunted by its army’s “debacle” in World War II and “cannot stomach” Turkey’s military capabilities. The argument goes that France is trying to pit Turkey against Russia, while also hoping for a Turkish-Egyptian war in Libya.
A main point of strength for Turkey in Libya is that it backs the UN-recognized government in Tripoli. France, for its part, accuses Turkey of using Islamist militants, drawing mostly on the notion of fighting terrorism. But due to diverging priorities, France has failed to impress its Western partners, many of whom have not even made an issue of Turkey’s transfer of Syrian jihadis to Libya.
France’s essential misfortune in Libya stems from falling on the same side with Russia. It has ended up largely isolated in NATO as Washington came to prioritize the prevention of Russian entrenchment in Libya after initially winking at Khalifa Hifter, the leader of the eastern forces, and sympathizing with Egypt’s concerns over the Muslim Brotherhood. Russia entered the game after France had already put its bets on Hifter. Ostensibly, everyone was investing in a “secular” alternative that would defeat the Islamists. France could have hardly foreseen that Turkey would intervene directly on the side of the Tripoli government, linking the conflict to the energy rivalry in the eastern Mediterranean, and that Washington would come to back Ankara.
Paradoxically, Erdogan is able to posture as a defender of NATO against French President Emmanuel Macron, who argues the alliance is “brain dead,” never mind that Turkey has bought Russian air defense systems and blocked implementation of a NATO defense plan for eastern Europe in an attempt to force its allies to blacklist the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a terrorist group.
Second, Erdogan has used the French colonial past in Africa in a full-blast effort to promote Ankara’s own efforts to open up to the continent. He has had no qualms about raking over the coals of colonialism during trips to Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Gabon and Niger in recent years.
Also, Erdogan has skillfully portrayed France as a “destructive” actor in Libya, referencing the French lead in the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya, never mind that the Turkish city of Izmir was the headquarters of the campaign.
Furthermore, Erdogan accuses France of “supporting terrorism” over its backing for the Syrian Kurds. Washington’s partnership with the YPG has been at a much greater level, but Ankara’s criticism of Washington has had a reverse gear.
Still, the Turkish tendency to downplay France’s clout is mistaken. After its failure to squeeze Turkey at NATO, France unfolded its European Union cards, calling a July 13 meeting to discuss Ankara’s actions in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean and consider sanctions.
The EU’s own divergences, however, keep the bloc from applying strong pressure on Turkey. The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic also stands in the way of assertive foreign policies. Plus, many EU members are not at ease with France falling on the same side with Russia in Libya.
Domestic politics are another factor weakening France’s profile on the foreign policy track. Macron reshuffled the government this week after his party took a drubbing in local elections in late June, atop the blows of the coronavirus pandemic, the “yellow vests” riots and trade union protests.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country took over the EU presidency this month, has other priorities such as the trade dossiers with China and the United States, overcoming the pandemic damage, appeasing disenchanted members such as Italy and Spain and weathering Brexit smoothly. She might consider a second Berlin conference on Libya, but seeks to avoid losing her real focus to the French-Turkish score-settling.
Yet such downsides for France do not mean that things will be easy for Turkey. Erdogan’s Libyan venture is the most staggering episode in his dreams of a return to Africa. In this context, France’s aversion to a Turkish comeback is rather different from its rivalries with China, India and the United States, to which France has been losing the African market. Erdogan’s Africa opening, fraught as it is with anti-colonial narratives, is seen as a score-settling attempt by the French; hence they are unlikely to stand by with folded arms.
Indeed, Paris has the means to hamper Turkey in Africa, where France holds permanent military bases in Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Gabon and Senegal and has run counterterror operations in Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad since 2014. France has close ties with Tunisia and Algeria, two important neighbors of Libya. During a June visit to Paris, Tunisia’s president pleased his hosts, saying the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord in Libya had only “a temporary legitimacy” and should be replaced with “a new legitimate government.”
To impede Turkey, France is likely to spearhead moves within the EU as well. France, Greece, Cyprus and Austria have already proved their skill in teaming up to hamper Turkey. The EU has thus far excluded Turkey from its travel reopening, dealing Ankara a major blow as it grapples with a hard-currency crunch and hopes for the return of European tourists to boost its revenues. Ankara sees its exclusion as a political move, arguing that its pandemic record is better than many in Europe. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu traveled to Berlin last week to seek a breakthrough on tourism, but to no avail.
The EU’s refugee deal with Turkey remains important for Merkel, but the general European sentiment toward Turkey keeps deteriorating. Volkswagen’s decision to drop a major investment plan in Turkey despite lavish government incentives is not an ordinary event. It shows that even Merkel could do little for Turkey as she tries to prevent the EU from drifting into a big schism over Turkey. On July 6, German politicians attending an online meeting organized by Erdogan’s party signaled that Ankara could hardly hope for a new page with the EU because of its worsening record on democracy and the rule of law.
Back to Libya, a core point of contention between France and Turkey is about which country is violating the UN arms embargo. According to French sources, French assistance for Hifter has been limited to a few missile batteries and intelligence agents, sent prior to 2017, unlike the extensive military, technical and militia support that Ankara has provided to the Tripoli forces. As the researcher Jalel Harchaoui puts it, Paris shares the Egyptian and Emirati intolerance for political Islam, and even if it did not get involved in the conflict as much as the Russians, it provided a “diplomatic veneer” to Hifter.
As Turkish and Russian involvement grew, the scenario of Libya becoming an influence-sharing ground for Turkey and Russia has emerged as an unsettling prospect for France, which it describes as “the Syrianization of Libya.”
France is now compelled to look for alternatives. Because sidelining Turkey and Russia simultaneously is impossible, the French have timidly moved to communicate with the head of the Government of National Accord, while trying to convince the EU and the United States to readjust their postures.
In any case, Libya is not a place where either of the sides could bring peace by ignoring the other. The country has a coastline of 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) on the Mediterranean, land borders of 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) with six neighbors and oil and gas partnerships with international companies. Turkey’s intervention to secure Tripoli, Egypt’s declaration of Sirte as a “red line” in collaboration with Russia and France and the rifts in NATO and the EU are all pointing to one way out — a negotiating table where the Libyans decide Libya’s future.
More from Fehim Tastekin
Baghdad's row with Ankara could benefit each side
Jul 8, 2020
Is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham doing Turkey’s job in Idlib?
Jun 28, 2020
Why is Sirte everyone’s ‘red line’ in Libya?
Jun 20, 2020
Read more: Why is France a useful adversary for Turkey?
Posted for fair use.....
oilprice.com
The Battle For Libya’s Oil Heats Up
By Editorial Dept - Jul 10, 2020, 11:00 AM CDT
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict
- The battle for Libya is threatening to turn into direct clashes between the Turkish and Egyptian militaries, now that Turkey has categorically rejected Egypt’s ceasefire deal. This rejection was followed this week by the Egyptian Army’s preparations for a military maneuver near its border with Libya - also a direct response to Turkish naval exercises in the Mediterranean. Haftar is still playing cat-and-mouse with the National Oil Company (NOC), in the meantime - unwilling to lose any ounce of leverage as negotiations continue. On July 7th, the NOC noted that it was ready to lift the force majeure at the Es Sider port and allow a tanker to load crude from storage. However, when they attempted to load on July 8th, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) would not allow the tanker to enter the port. The NOC now says that Libyan oil production will decline to 650,000 b/d in 2022, down by half from the start of this year, “in the absence of an immediate restart of oil production and because of the state’s failure to provide the requested budgets to address the many challenges resulting from the blockade”.
- At the same time, the U.S. role in Libya remains undetermined at best. Under lobbying pressure from Haftar’s allies the UAE and Egypt, as well as pressure on the other side from Turkey and Qatar - for Washington, this is a geopolitical landmine. Supporting Haftar means siding with Russia against… (rest behind login wall)
The Battle For Libya’s Oil Heats Up | OilPrice.com
The battle for Libya’s oil is nearing a breaking point, with a direct conflict between Turkey and Egypt now a real possibility
oilprice.com
The Battle For Libya’s Oil Heats Up
By Editorial Dept - Jul 10, 2020, 11:00 AM CDT
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict
- The battle for Libya is threatening to turn into direct clashes between the Turkish and Egyptian militaries, now that Turkey has categorically rejected Egypt’s ceasefire deal. This rejection was followed this week by the Egyptian Army’s preparations for a military maneuver near its border with Libya - also a direct response to Turkish naval exercises in the Mediterranean. Haftar is still playing cat-and-mouse with the National Oil Company (NOC), in the meantime - unwilling to lose any ounce of leverage as negotiations continue. On July 7th, the NOC noted that it was ready to lift the force majeure at the Es Sider port and allow a tanker to load crude from storage. However, when they attempted to load on July 8th, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) would not allow the tanker to enter the port. The NOC now says that Libyan oil production will decline to 650,000 b/d in 2022, down by half from the start of this year, “in the absence of an immediate restart of oil production and because of the state’s failure to provide the requested budgets to address the many challenges resulting from the blockade”.
- At the same time, the U.S. role in Libya remains undetermined at best. Under lobbying pressure from Haftar’s allies the UAE and Egypt, as well as pressure on the other side from Turkey and Qatar - for Washington, this is a geopolitical landmine. Supporting Haftar means siding with Russia against… (rest behind login wall)
Posted for fair use.....
www.independent.co.uk
Turkey’s illicit arms deliveries to Libya are more brazen than ever, yet Nato continues to ‘turn a blind eye’
No country has flouted the nine-year UN arms embargo on Libya as openly as Turkey, writes Borzou Daragahi
But this year, arms shipments to Ankara’s allies in Libya are being moved on ships with Turkish military personnel aboard and escorted by Turkish warships, present to fend off any potential interlopers, according to research conducted by a French open-source intelligence organisation. (rest behind paywall)
Nato continues to ‘turn a blind eye’ towards Turkish arms to Libya
No country has flouted the nine-year UN arms embargo on Libya as openly as Turkey, writes Borzou Daragahi
www.independent.co.uk
Turkey’s illicit arms deliveries to Libya are more brazen than ever, yet Nato continues to ‘turn a blind eye’
No country has flouted the nine-year UN arms embargo on Libya as openly as Turkey, writes Borzou Daragahi
- @borzou
- 1 day ago
But this year, arms shipments to Ankara’s allies in Libya are being moved on ships with Turkish military personnel aboard and escorted by Turkish warships, present to fend off any potential interlopers, according to research conducted by a French open-source intelligence organisation. (rest behind paywall)
jward
passin' thru
Mahmoud Gamal
@mahmouedgamal44
4h
Egyptian Navy carried out several naval activties in Mediterranean within Hasam-20 military drills including firing RGM-48/UGM-84 anti-ship missiles from frigates, corvettes, FMCs & submarines.
View: https://twitter.com/mahmouedgamal44/status/1281941548817580033?s=20
@mahmouedgamal44
4h
Egyptian Navy carried out several naval activties in Mediterranean within Hasam-20 military drills including firing RGM-48/UGM-84 anti-ship missiles from frigates, corvettes, FMCs & submarines.
View: https://twitter.com/mahmouedgamal44/status/1281941548817580033?s=20
jward
passin' thru
INTELSky
@Intel_Sky
18m
#BREAKING 3 trucks carrying logistical equipment for the
US forces has been targeted between Samawah and Diwaniyah in southern Iraq.
View: https://twitter.com/Intel_Sky/status/1282028613920002049?s=20
Hummm......
Posted for fair use.....
www.almasdarnews.com
Turkish-backed Libyan forces fight each other in Tripoli
By
News Desk
-
2020-07-11
BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:00 P.M.) – The United Nations Support Mission in Libya has expressed deep concern about the recent clashes between different Turkish-backed groups in Janzour, a residential area of Tripoli.
These clashes have reportedly terrorized the local population and resulted in a number of deaths and injuries.
The U.N. mission condemned such reckless acts that put civilians directly at risk, while Tripoli is still recovering from a 15-month blockade.
The Mission noted that the occurrence of these clashes underscores the need for the Government of the National Accord to move quickly towards effective security sector reform, in conjunction with the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups.
The clashes between these Turkish-backed groups were first reported earlier in the week and since then, they have been sporadic, with the most intense firefights taking place on Friday.
Posted for fair use.....
Turkish-backed Libyan forces fight each other in Tripoli
BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:00 P.M.) - The United Nations Support Mission in Libya has expressed deep concern about the recent clashes between different
www.almasdarnews.com
Turkish-backed Libyan forces fight each other in Tripoli
By
News Desk
-
2020-07-11
BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:00 P.M.) – The United Nations Support Mission in Libya has expressed deep concern about the recent clashes between different Turkish-backed groups in Janzour, a residential area of Tripoli.
These clashes have reportedly terrorized the local population and resulted in a number of deaths and injuries.
The U.N. mission condemned such reckless acts that put civilians directly at risk, while Tripoli is still recovering from a 15-month blockade.
The Mission noted that the occurrence of these clashes underscores the need for the Government of the National Accord to move quickly towards effective security sector reform, in conjunction with the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups.
The clashes between these Turkish-backed groups were first reported earlier in the week and since then, they have been sporadic, with the most intense firefights taking place on Friday.
jward
passin' thru
Deven_Intel
@Deven_Intel
5m
The #UnitedStates & the #GNA are cooperating together on reports that #Venezuela's dictator Maduro & Eastern #Libya based #Haftar. The United States believes that Haftar has been giving maduro's regime U.S Dollars in exchange for Gold.
View: https://twitter.com/Deven_Intel/status/1282158807963955200?s=20
@Deven_Intel
5m
The #UnitedStates & the #GNA are cooperating together on reports that #Venezuela's dictator Maduro & Eastern #Libya based #Haftar. The United States believes that Haftar has been giving maduro's regime U.S Dollars in exchange for Gold.
View: https://twitter.com/Deven_Intel/status/1282158807963955200?s=20
Posted for fair use.....
www.strategypage.com
Murphy's Law: The Old Cold War Magic
Archives
July 11, 2020: One of the mysteries of the Libyan civil war was the sudden retreat of the LNA (Libyan National Army) from Tripoli and western Libya in general. A major reason doe the retreat was the inability of LNA personnel to safeguard Russian electronic and air defense systems or for Libyans, in general, to deal with Russian offers to negotiate. That is why the Russians suddenly withdrew, and later returned, many of the troops and military contractors it had in Libya supporting the LNA. What angered the Russians most was not the role Turkey played in the GNA (Government of National Accord) forces capturing the LNA al Watiya airbase on May 18. This was the main LNA airbase near Tripoli the defense was based on Russian anti-aircraft (Pantsir) systems as well as at least one Krasukha truck-mounted EW (Electronic Warfare) system. The attack on al Watiya was supported by over fifty airstrikes carried out by Turkish UAVs and supported by Turkish EW jammers.
Here's where the situation went off the rails for the Russians. It was GNA militias that actually took possession of Watiya and seized several warplanes and three Pantsir air defense vehicles along with a Russian Krasukha vehicle. It appears the victorious Libyans sold the Krasukha vehicle to the United States, along with other captured Russian equipment. That has not been confirmed but most such transfers of modern Russian military gear to the United States are not acknowledged for a while. The U.S. has monitored Krasukha use in Ukraine and Syria. But having one would answer a lot of questions, some of them major but most being minor.
The analog Krasukha 2 first entered service in 2015 and the more advanced digital Krasukha 4 showed up about a year later. Russia has said the Krasukha and other new EW systems are components of an even more powerful EW system still under development.
Russia had earlier sent post-Cold War ground-based jamming systems like Krasukha to Syria and also used them against Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine (DonBas). The most notable of these new EW systems was the truck-mounted Krasukha-4 ELINT/Jammer, which had capabilities similar to those cited for the new Il-22PP EW aircraft. The Krasukha-4 passive monitoring systems were used in Syria but the jammer, with a range of 250 kilometers, apparently was not. This was not the case in Libya where Russian forces there, supporting the LNA, used Krasukha against the Turkish troops who came to support the UN-backed, but unpopular in Libya, GNA. This UN backed Libyan government was unelected and also unpopular because it depended on militias to control Tripoli and Misrata, two large Libyan cities which were all it controlled when the Turks intervened in late 2019 to basically save the GNA from being completely defeated by the LNA.
The Turks had defeated the truck-mounted Pantsir gun/missile air defense system in Syria, as had the Israelis. Russia knew this and should have been more careful in Libya. The defeat and loss of Pantsir vehicles was a major setback for Russian exports because they had already sold over a hundred Pantsir vehicles to export customers and those customers were demanding upgrades for their Pantsirs so that they would perform against foes like Turkey or the Iranians. Russia recently revealed a new, and perhaps final (S1M) update for the Pantsir. This Pantsir S1M had not been tried in combat yet. If Pantsir S1M also fails that will be the end of Pantsir and Russia will have a harder time finding export customers for all its air defense systems as well as its new EW systems. This includes expensive new EW aircraft that were also tested over Syria and Eastern Ukraine.
In late-2016 Russia revealed the existence of their Il-22PP post-Cold War EW (electronic warfare) aircraft. Russia already had three Il-22PPs and this aircraft was described as an airborne electronic jammer that can detect and block all manner of signals, but particularly the digital ones (like American Link 16) used by Western warplanes and radars like those used by AWACS aircraft. The Il-22PP was also described as being able to protect itself from anti-radiation missiles like the American AGM-88 series.
The Il-22PP was based on the Il-18D, which was an airliner that was frequently converted to Il-20 maritime and ELINT (electronic) surveillance or Il-38 ASW (anti-submarine warfare) aircraft. An Il-20 was spotted in Syria during late 2015 but apparently didn’t stay long. Russian officials said the Il-22PP was a test model of a more advanced aircraft that would be based on a modern transport like the An-140.
Since late 2015 Russia has revealed (to the public) the existence of other post-Cold War electronic warfare aircraft by using them in Syria or over Ukraine. The most prominent of these was the Tu-214R which showed up in Syria during early 2016. This is the Russian equivalent of the American RC-135 Rivet Joint. These aircraft can collect a wide variety of electronic signals in an area, and analyze them quickly and act, often by using onboard jammers. The analysis effort is looking for patterns. The enemy below leaves signs electronically (cell phones, walkie-talkies) or visually (images captured on surveillance cameras). Using the right math and analytical tools (software and computers), you can quickly discover where the bad guys are coming from and have the ground troops promptly shell, bomb or raid the location. This kind of work was popular with the RC-135 crews (about thirty aircrew and techies) in Iraq, Afghanistan (and elsewhere) because they were getting a chance to do, in a combat zone, what they have long trained for. Moreover, it's relatively risk-free, as the aircraft flies beyond the range of machine-gun or shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, the most productive work is done during night missions, when the bad guys can't even see the RC-135's (or Tu-214R) high above.
Russia and China both studied the use of RC-135s in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Russian response was two Tu-214Rs. These aircraft completed their testing during 2015 and the one in Syria was getting its first combat experience. This allowed the United States and Israel to monitor the Tu-214R in action. Apparently, there was nothing particularly impressive about it. Russia has not mentioned sending the Il-22PP to Syria. It has been acknowledged that the truck-mounted Krasukha is basically using the same electronic gear carried by the IL-22PP. That means buying a captured Krasukha in Libya and driving it to U.S.-friendly Tunisia to catch an air transport flight to the United States is considered a big, if secret deal. It happened a lot during and after the Cold War when American intel operatives, equipped with lots of cash and orders to close deals quickly, bought up a lot of late-model Russian equipment from major Russian customers like Libya. Some Libyans may have remembered that and there were some unofficial communications available between the U.S. and the GNA. The Libyans have proved, especially since 2011, to be fast-moving opportunists and that’s what makes it likely that the captured Krasukha disappeared, replaced by a large pile of hundred-dollar bills.
Murphy's Law: The Old Cold War Magic
One of the mysteries of the Libyan civil war was the sudden retreat of the LNA (Libyan National Army) from Tripoli and western Libya in general A major reason doe the retreat was the inability of LNA personnel to safeguard Russian electronic and air def
www.strategypage.com
Murphy's Law: The Old Cold War Magic
Archives
- WINNING: Japan Choses Quiet Over Security
- PHOTO: Honoring The Fallen
- BOOK REVIEW: The Hunt for Jimmie Browne: An MIA Pilot in World War II China
- BOOK REVIEW: The Hunt for Jimmie Browne: An MIA Pilot in World War II China
- MURPHY'S LAW: The Old Cold War Magic
- INFORMATION WARFARE: Paranoia Central
- AIR DEFENSE: The Old Gun Is The New Gun
- PHOTO: Giffords On The South China Sea
- BOOK REVIEW: he Life of Alcibiades: Dangerous Ambition and the Betrayal of Athens
July 11, 2020: One of the mysteries of the Libyan civil war was the sudden retreat of the LNA (Libyan National Army) from Tripoli and western Libya in general. A major reason doe the retreat was the inability of LNA personnel to safeguard Russian electronic and air defense systems or for Libyans, in general, to deal with Russian offers to negotiate. That is why the Russians suddenly withdrew, and later returned, many of the troops and military contractors it had in Libya supporting the LNA. What angered the Russians most was not the role Turkey played in the GNA (Government of National Accord) forces capturing the LNA al Watiya airbase on May 18. This was the main LNA airbase near Tripoli the defense was based on Russian anti-aircraft (Pantsir) systems as well as at least one Krasukha truck-mounted EW (Electronic Warfare) system. The attack on al Watiya was supported by over fifty airstrikes carried out by Turkish UAVs and supported by Turkish EW jammers.
Here's where the situation went off the rails for the Russians. It was GNA militias that actually took possession of Watiya and seized several warplanes and three Pantsir air defense vehicles along with a Russian Krasukha vehicle. It appears the victorious Libyans sold the Krasukha vehicle to the United States, along with other captured Russian equipment. That has not been confirmed but most such transfers of modern Russian military gear to the United States are not acknowledged for a while. The U.S. has monitored Krasukha use in Ukraine and Syria. But having one would answer a lot of questions, some of them major but most being minor.
The analog Krasukha 2 first entered service in 2015 and the more advanced digital Krasukha 4 showed up about a year later. Russia has said the Krasukha and other new EW systems are components of an even more powerful EW system still under development.
Russia had earlier sent post-Cold War ground-based jamming systems like Krasukha to Syria and also used them against Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine (DonBas). The most notable of these new EW systems was the truck-mounted Krasukha-4 ELINT/Jammer, which had capabilities similar to those cited for the new Il-22PP EW aircraft. The Krasukha-4 passive monitoring systems were used in Syria but the jammer, with a range of 250 kilometers, apparently was not. This was not the case in Libya where Russian forces there, supporting the LNA, used Krasukha against the Turkish troops who came to support the UN-backed, but unpopular in Libya, GNA. This UN backed Libyan government was unelected and also unpopular because it depended on militias to control Tripoli and Misrata, two large Libyan cities which were all it controlled when the Turks intervened in late 2019 to basically save the GNA from being completely defeated by the LNA.
The Turks had defeated the truck-mounted Pantsir gun/missile air defense system in Syria, as had the Israelis. Russia knew this and should have been more careful in Libya. The defeat and loss of Pantsir vehicles was a major setback for Russian exports because they had already sold over a hundred Pantsir vehicles to export customers and those customers were demanding upgrades for their Pantsirs so that they would perform against foes like Turkey or the Iranians. Russia recently revealed a new, and perhaps final (S1M) update for the Pantsir. This Pantsir S1M had not been tried in combat yet. If Pantsir S1M also fails that will be the end of Pantsir and Russia will have a harder time finding export customers for all its air defense systems as well as its new EW systems. This includes expensive new EW aircraft that were also tested over Syria and Eastern Ukraine.
In late-2016 Russia revealed the existence of their Il-22PP post-Cold War EW (electronic warfare) aircraft. Russia already had three Il-22PPs and this aircraft was described as an airborne electronic jammer that can detect and block all manner of signals, but particularly the digital ones (like American Link 16) used by Western warplanes and radars like those used by AWACS aircraft. The Il-22PP was also described as being able to protect itself from anti-radiation missiles like the American AGM-88 series.
The Il-22PP was based on the Il-18D, which was an airliner that was frequently converted to Il-20 maritime and ELINT (electronic) surveillance or Il-38 ASW (anti-submarine warfare) aircraft. An Il-20 was spotted in Syria during late 2015 but apparently didn’t stay long. Russian officials said the Il-22PP was a test model of a more advanced aircraft that would be based on a modern transport like the An-140.
Since late 2015 Russia has revealed (to the public) the existence of other post-Cold War electronic warfare aircraft by using them in Syria or over Ukraine. The most prominent of these was the Tu-214R which showed up in Syria during early 2016. This is the Russian equivalent of the American RC-135 Rivet Joint. These aircraft can collect a wide variety of electronic signals in an area, and analyze them quickly and act, often by using onboard jammers. The analysis effort is looking for patterns. The enemy below leaves signs electronically (cell phones, walkie-talkies) or visually (images captured on surveillance cameras). Using the right math and analytical tools (software and computers), you can quickly discover where the bad guys are coming from and have the ground troops promptly shell, bomb or raid the location. This kind of work was popular with the RC-135 crews (about thirty aircrew and techies) in Iraq, Afghanistan (and elsewhere) because they were getting a chance to do, in a combat zone, what they have long trained for. Moreover, it's relatively risk-free, as the aircraft flies beyond the range of machine-gun or shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, the most productive work is done during night missions, when the bad guys can't even see the RC-135's (or Tu-214R) high above.
Russia and China both studied the use of RC-135s in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Russian response was two Tu-214Rs. These aircraft completed their testing during 2015 and the one in Syria was getting its first combat experience. This allowed the United States and Israel to monitor the Tu-214R in action. Apparently, there was nothing particularly impressive about it. Russia has not mentioned sending the Il-22PP to Syria. It has been acknowledged that the truck-mounted Krasukha is basically using the same electronic gear carried by the IL-22PP. That means buying a captured Krasukha in Libya and driving it to U.S.-friendly Tunisia to catch an air transport flight to the United States is considered a big, if secret deal. It happened a lot during and after the Cold War when American intel operatives, equipped with lots of cash and orders to close deals quickly, bought up a lot of late-model Russian equipment from major Russian customers like Libya. Some Libyans may have remembered that and there were some unofficial communications available between the U.S. and the GNA. The Libyans have proved, especially since 2011, to be fast-moving opportunists and that’s what makes it likely that the captured Krasukha disappeared, replaced by a large pile of hundred-dollar bills.
Zagdid
Veteran Member
Turkish Media Report Now That Hagia Sophia Is Done, Athens "is Next"
Greece of course is not a low populated island with a non-professional military like Cyprus, nor is it a country like Syria devastated by nearly a decade of
greekcitytimes.com
Turkish media report now that Hagia Sophia is done, Athens “is next”
by PAUL ANTONOPOULOS GREEK NEWS,POLITICS2 HOURS AGO
Turkey is one of the lowest ranked countries for media freedoms in the world, Turkish citizens are the second most susceptible country surveyed on the European continent and its surrounds to fake news, has the most journalists jailed in the whole world, and 90% of media is government controlled.
With over 90% of media controlled by the Turkish government, much of what the media says is the voice of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
A Tweet by radically pro-Erdoğan media outlet Haber 7 said “Hagia Sophia is done! Next is Athens,”
As an extension of Erdoğan’s voice, the now deleted Tweet is a clear threat that the entire Turkish establishment have ambitions of not only invading Greece’s Eastern Mediterranean islands, Crete and western Thrace, but all of Greece including Athens.
Many wants to dismiss the seriousness of Turkey’s ambitions against Greece’s sovereignty, but one only has to remember it’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and it’s invasion of large areas of northern Syria where now the Turkish currency, curriculum and language is used instead of Syrian administration and the Arabic language.
Greece of course is not a low populated island with a non-professional military like Cyprus, nor is it a country like Syria devastated by nearly a decade of fighting radical jihadists, but the threat of war remains real, especially now that Turkish media find it comfortable enough to announce their intentions of invading Athens.
Meanwhile, Greece will be imposing sanctions against Turkey for its decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque, as reported by Greek City Times.
“Greece condemns this action and will do everything in its power to have consequences for Turkey,” government spokesman Stelios Petsas said, adding that “everything is on the table and the possibility of sanctions not only from Europe but also from international organisations, such as UNESCO.”
He added that “there is no doubt that we will proceed with some form of sanctions,” without giving further details what these sanctions will entail.
Posted for fair use.....
www.reuters.com
World News
July 12, 2020 / 3:51 PM / Updated 2 hours ago
Saudi-led coalition intercepts ballistic rockets, drones launched by Yemen's Houthis: state news agency
CAIRO - (Reuters) - The Saudi-Led coalition said on Monday it intercepted and destroyed four ballistic rockets and seven drones laden with explosives launched by Yemen’s Houthis towards the kingdom.
The coalition has started a military operation against the Iran-aligned group after it stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Saudi state television reported early in July.
The coalition did not report any casualties.
The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system.
The conflict is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Reporting by Alaa Swilam; editing by Diane Craft and Lincoln Feast.
Yemeni Houthis say they hit Saudi oil facility in drone, missile attack
Yemeni Houthi forces hit a large oil facility in the southern Saudi Arabian city of Jizan in drone and missile attacks overnight, a Houthi military spokesman said on Monday.
www.reuters.com
World News
July 12, 2020 / 3:51 PM / Updated 2 hours ago
Saudi-led coalition intercepts ballistic rockets, drones launched by Yemen's Houthis: state news agency
CAIRO - (Reuters) - The Saudi-Led coalition said on Monday it intercepted and destroyed four ballistic rockets and seven drones laden with explosives launched by Yemen’s Houthis towards the kingdom.
The coalition has started a military operation against the Iran-aligned group after it stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Saudi state television reported early in July.
The coalition did not report any casualties.
The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system.
The conflict is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Reporting by Alaa Swilam; editing by Diane Craft and Lincoln Feast.
Posted for fair use.....
www.reuters.com
Commodities
July 12, 2020 / 10:40 AM / Updated 8 hours ago
Libya's NOC accuses UAE of being behind oil blockade
TUNIS (Reuters) - Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) on Sunday accused the United Arab Emirates of instructing eastern forces in Libya’s civil war to reimpose a blockade of oil exports after the departure of a first tanker in six months.
The UAE, along with Russia and Egypt, supports the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar, which on Saturday said the blockade would continue despite it having let a tanker load with oil from storage.
“NOC has been informed that the instructions to shut down production were given to (the LNA) by the United Arab Emirates,” it said in a statement, resuming force majeure on all oil exports.
There was no immediate comment on NOC’s accusation from either the LNA or the UAE.
Haftar has been on the back foot after Turkish support helped the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) turn back his 14-month assault on the capital Tripoli.
After the GNA gained ground, NOC also tried to restart production at the Sharara oilfield, but said this effort was quickly shut down and accused Russian mercenaries fighting alongside the LNA of deploying there.
On Friday the Vitol tanker Kriti Bastion docked and loaded at Es Sider port before sailing on Saturday, the first legal export of Libyan oil since the blockade was imposed in January. NOC said Russian and Syrian mercenaries fighting alongside the LNA now occupied Es Sider.
Under international agreements only NOC can produce and export oil and revenues must flow into the Central Bank of Libya. Both those institutions are based in Tripoli, seat of the GNA.
The LNA said on Saturday it would keep up the blockade until a list of conditions were met, including channelling oil revenue into a new bank account based outside the country to then be distributed regionally.
On Sunday the United States’ Libya embassy said the resumption of the blockade came after “days of intense diplomatic activity” to let NOC resume output, and said it “regrets that foreign-backed efforts” had impeded this.
Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Pravin Char and Louise Heavens
Libya's NOC accuses UAE of being behind oil blockade
Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) on Sunday accused the United Arab Emirates of instructing eastern forces in Libya's civil war to reimpose a blockade of oil exports after the departure of a first tanker in six months.
www.reuters.com
Commodities
July 12, 2020 / 10:40 AM / Updated 8 hours ago
Libya's NOC accuses UAE of being behind oil blockade
TUNIS (Reuters) - Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) on Sunday accused the United Arab Emirates of instructing eastern forces in Libya’s civil war to reimpose a blockade of oil exports after the departure of a first tanker in six months.
The UAE, along with Russia and Egypt, supports the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar, which on Saturday said the blockade would continue despite it having let a tanker load with oil from storage.
“NOC has been informed that the instructions to shut down production were given to (the LNA) by the United Arab Emirates,” it said in a statement, resuming force majeure on all oil exports.
There was no immediate comment on NOC’s accusation from either the LNA or the UAE.
Haftar has been on the back foot after Turkish support helped the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) turn back his 14-month assault on the capital Tripoli.
After the GNA gained ground, NOC also tried to restart production at the Sharara oilfield, but said this effort was quickly shut down and accused Russian mercenaries fighting alongside the LNA of deploying there.
On Friday the Vitol tanker Kriti Bastion docked and loaded at Es Sider port before sailing on Saturday, the first legal export of Libyan oil since the blockade was imposed in January. NOC said Russian and Syrian mercenaries fighting alongside the LNA now occupied Es Sider.
Under international agreements only NOC can produce and export oil and revenues must flow into the Central Bank of Libya. Both those institutions are based in Tripoli, seat of the GNA.
The LNA said on Saturday it would keep up the blockade until a list of conditions were met, including channelling oil revenue into a new bank account based outside the country to then be distributed regionally.
On Sunday the United States’ Libya embassy said the resumption of the blockade came after “days of intense diplomatic activity” to let NOC resume output, and said it “regrets that foreign-backed efforts” had impeded this.
Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Pravin Char and Louise Heavens
jward
passin' thru
EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
·
4h
Russian Wagner groups withdrew from the Sirte and Jufra front. It looks like they don't want to face directly with GNA. Soon operation will start.
