Erdogan says Turkey won’t be silent over mercenaries in Libya

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey will not stay silent over Russian-backed mercenaries supporting Khalifa Haftar in Libya, as Moscow voiced concerns over possible Turkish military deployment to Libya in support of Haftar's enemies.

Turkey has backed Libya's internationally recognized government led by Fayez al-Serraj and the two sides signed a security agreement last month which could deepen military cooperation between them.

Turkey has already sent military supplies to Libya in violation of a United Nations arms embargo, according a report by UN experts seen by Reuters last month. It said Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) asked Turkey for help after Haftar received support from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Turkey had not responded directly to the assertions in the report, but Erdogan said Ankara could not ignore the...