Turkey is boosting its influence across North Africa, analysts say, intervening militarily in war-torn Libya and using "soft power", trade and investment in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Muslim conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in recent years asserted Ankara's role as a regional player, sparring with Greece and the European Union as well as with Russia and Gulf nations. Emadeddin Badi, an analyst at the Global Initiative Network, said that "Turkey is trying... to leverage its military investment for influence". Vermeren said that "in Libya, Turkey has made itself essential, through 'hard power'. Amid North Africa's bulging youth population, struggling with soaring unemployment worsened by the pandemic, Erdogan has won wide respect, said Vermeeren.

Source: Libya Today December 24, 2020 02:03 UTC