ITALIAN REPORT REVEALS QATAR’S ROLE IN TRAINING TERRORIST GROUPS IN LIBYA

Italian political analyst Giuseppe Jagliano presented his analysis of the military cooperation agreement between Qatar, Libya and Turkey, which was announced in mid-August.

“It is important to remember that Turkey has always supported Qatar at the military level and has received significant financial support in return, and it is enough to mention, for example, that the deputy commander of Ankara’s forces in Doha is the head of the Ahmed bin Mohammed Military Academy in Qatar, which means that the training of military cadres is chosen on the basis of political and religious options pro-Turkey,” he said.

He noted that the presence of Turkish security forces in Qatar largely reflects the importance of Turkish military political influence in Doha, represented by the Tariq bin Ziad base, where the Leadership of the Qatar-Turkey Joint Force is located.

The report drew attention to Qatar’s dramatic ally of Turkey’s arms exports, allowing Ankara to generate $335 million in revenue, while the Turkish military operation spring of peace in northeastern Syria was openly backed by Doha to expand the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence.

According to the report: “On the investment side, Qatar has spent $15 billion since 2018 and bought a 50% stake in Turkish armored vehicle manufacturer BMC, and there is also the state-controlled military software company in Ankara, which has signed a partnership agreement with Al-Masnad Holding Company in Qatar for a joint venture specializing in cybersecurity. However, one of the most important agreements to address turkey’s serious economic situation is the May 20 agreement, thanks to which the Central Bank of Turkey announced a three-fold currency exchange agreement with Qatar.”

The Italian analyst added: “With regard to relations between Libya and Qatar, Doha has been able to take advantage of the political weaknesses of both the European Union and the United Nations, as well as the decline in Trump’s interest in the Middle East and the focus of his foreign policy on China and Russia, taking advantage of this instability. Qatar has tried to take advantage of this opportunity to try to gain greater weight and importance at the geopolitical level in Libya

“It is precisely for this reason that Qatar’s military presence in the 2011 conflict alongside NATO was certainly important not only because of the use of air power, but also by training Libyan rebels both inside Libya and Doha, without forgetting of course the relevant role their special forces played in the recent attack on Gaddafi.”

“Another instrument of influence, and at the same time, was the penetration of Libya, certainly by the Brothers Ali and Ismail al-Halabi, who were persecuted by the Gaddafi regime. In particular, Ali al-Halabi is certainly one of the most important men associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Another key figure for Qatar is certainly AbdelHakim Belhadj, who was considered a serious terrorist by both the CIA and the Us State Department as the leader of the Libyan Islamic Group.”

“Today, Qatar is investing heavily in the reconstruction of the military infrastructure in Tripoli, and indeed there were military advisers and trainers in the Qatari delegation who held meetings with their Libyan and Turkish counterparts, which was no coincidence,” the article said.