Libyan police forces to be trained in Turkish academies

Turkey has started negotiations with Libya to begin training the country's police force, which is being rebuilt after Libya's violent revolution that began in February 2011 and ended the 42-year dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi. A delegation from the Turkish General Directorate of Security, headed by Deputy National Police Chief Ahmet Pek, traveled to the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Saturday to discuss projects related to Libyan police training in Turkey. The Turkish delegation considered the issue with Libyan Interior Affairs Minister Omar al-Hadravi on Sunday. The meeting was also attended by high-ranking Libyan security officers. The officials talked about the resumption of Libyan police education, which was interrupted during the civil war, in Turkish police academies. They also discussed the possibility of including primary vocational training in the Libyan police force for former armed insurgents, in Turkey. Libya's police force recently allowed former militia members to join its ranks, in an effort to bring unruly militias to heel. Civilian militia groups, which fought to unseat former Libyan leader Gaddafi, are now the biggest threat to stability in Libya, clashing regularly with each other in violent turf wars, undermining the authority of Libya's new rulers. Libyan officers mentioned the disarming of Libyan civil insurgents and ways to intervene in potential episodes of violence in the future as two important areas in which the Libyan police force needs training. Pek mentioned Libya's urgent need for assistance on issues relating to internal security. He said, "Police training buildings were seriously damaged, and armaments and equipment were plundered during the chaos that ruled the country during the civil war," the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday. Pek stated that the Turkish delegation supplied necessary equipment for Libyan police forces during their recent visit and said they will be delivered to Libyan leaders during an official ceremony in Tripoli this week.