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With Saudi interest in Lebanese political developments waning, observers say that “Turkey has discovered that the square has been left empty due to its expansion from northern Lebanon and the city of Tripoli in particular, as well as the southern city of Sidon “.
Sources say that Turkey’s Agency for Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA) is the “extension arm of Ankara in Tripoli and Sidon”, especially since the two governorates include the largest Sunni community in the north and south of the country, where they are they finance various projects, especially in the field of construction and construction of water networks.
The director of an association in Sidon, who refused to reveal his name, confirmed that his colleague in another association requested to apply for funding for TIKA, because it is “willing to contribute money.
In Sidon, a Turkish hospital was completed in 2010 but did not open its doors to patients due to local disputes. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered works to open it quickly, after a field visit to the city of Sidon, by the head of the Health Council of the Turkish Presidency, Serkan. Topaloglu, last August.
The head of the Health Council said at the time that “President Turki was upset that the hospital remained closed.” As for the Northern Governorate, there is the village of Al-Kawacha in Akkar district, which is considered the largest concentration of Turkmen in Lebanon, and financial aid is delivered through it, according to sources.
“Turkey is helping all of Lebanon, from south to north, especially because it is interested in Turkmen and is willing to grant them citizenship,” said Muhammad Al-Ali, a relations officer in the Al-Kwasha village municipality, and explained that “the request for assistance is made exclusively through Turkmen associations, especially the Turkish-Lebanese Association, or Turkmen Association in Lebanon.”
He noted that “Turkish aid consists of supporting schools, establishing irrigation networks, digging water wells, restoring buildings and heritage sites in Tripoli, whose construction dates back to Ottoman times”, revealing that “there is a tendency to regulate the Turkmen presence in Lebanon within a comprehensive political coverage. In it, obtaining seats represents us in public policies ”.
In a related context, the Minister of the Interior, Mohamed Fahmy, previously revealed that the security services had seized nine million dollars in possession of Turkish and Syrian people arriving in Lebanon, at a time when the country was suffering a dollar shortage, which required the opening of a judicial investigation after which the results were not concluded.
Regarding this Turkish interest in Lebanon, Hoda Rizk, a political researcher specialized in regional and Turkish affairs, considered that “Turkey wants to expand and impose its influence in the region, and is interfering in sources of conflict to find its foothold, especially in Sunni areas. “
Rizk explained that “Turkey is looking for a political void among the Sunnis, to be present in it, and this is what really happened in Syria, and it is trying to do it in Iraq and in Lebanon after it felt that Saudi Arabia withdrew its Lebanon’s hand about three years ago. “
He added that “Turkish expansion is not new, since it began in 2004 with the Islamic movements and concentrations in Sidon and Tripoli, but today it takes a different form, which is humanitarian aid,” noting that “the presence of Turkmen in the village de Al-Kwasrah helped Ankara, which tried to enter the Lebanese camp. ”
According to the political researcher, “the port of Tripoli is a major attraction factor for Turkey due to its proximity to Cyprus.”
Regarding TIKA, Rizk stressed that “the agency is the preliminary route for the Turkish military and political presence, and this is what happened in Syria and elsewhere, and today this institution is spreading to Somalia, Sudan, Mali and Lebanon. , with a development coverage that hides political objectives behind it. “
