Erdogan's mercenaries, a dagger in Libya's back

Today, however, against all odds, Libyans have a chance to clamber out of the mess, as parliament has voted in favor of the interim government headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to lead Libya through long-delayed elections, scheduled for December 24.

The endorsement of Dbeibah’s government came after Libya’s parliament, the House of Representatives, meeting for three days in the coastal town of Sirte, gave an overwhelming vote of confidence in his new administration.

Through this vote, it became clear that the Libyans are one unit, as Dbeibeh told parliament afterwards "open your hearts to one another and forget the grudges." , “the time has come to turn the page on wars and division and to turn towards reconciliation and construction. It is time to settle the country’s differences in parliament and not on the battlefield.”

In a sign of his future problems, more than 35 MPs, mainly from the capital, Tripoli, boycotted the Sirte meeting. There has also not been a military unification to match the political unification, and further work is needed to reunify the central bank and other bodies.

But if there’s to be any chance for peace, the foreign powers that have flooded Libya with weapons, drones and mercenaries, primarily Turkey and Qatar must be persuaded to let the political process play out.

Libya's interim PM-designate calls for departure of mercenaries, slaming the presence of foreign fighters in Libya as a violation of the country's sovereignty. 

Dbeibah has been more circumspect about the removal of the 20,000 foreign mercenaries hired by Turkey. He said the troops were a dagger in the country’s back but that he needed to act prudently.

In theory, a U.N. arms embargo is in force, but on the ground, Turkish weapons are nonetheless arriving by the planeload as Erdogan struggled to seize control of the oil-rich country.

Libya has been unable to form a stable unified government since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with divisions between the east and west of the country leading to fighting and institutionalized division.