The Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Tuesday that his country's soldiers in Libya were protecting the rights and interests of Libyans, reiterating the sovereignty of Libya and its stability and independence.

Meeting Turkish soldiers in Libya as he visited the country with the Foreign Minister, Chief of Intelligence and Chief of General Staff, Akar said Ankara would continue to help friendly and brotherly countries in just causes and would defend them and their people's rights.

"The presence of Turkish soldiers aims to assist their Libyan brothers. When we came here, there were many problems, but we exerted all the needed efforts via the sea, land and air to help Libyans day and night in order to remove those problems." Akar said.

He added the expertise of the Libyan Chief of General Staff Mohammad Al-Haddad, commander of Tripoli military zone Abdelbasit Marwan and commander of western military zone Osama Juwaili helped massively in Libya operations, saying that it is all about achieving peace and stability in Libya now, especially the efforts to consolidate the ceasefire.

"We won't forget the killing of 26 young men at the Tripoli Military College and assist graves in Tarhouna. We will continue to train and give consultation to Libyans, especially in the field of demining and bringing life back to normal for Libyans in areas where war was waged. Turkey had so far given medical treatment to over 10.000 Libyans and dismantled over 4.407 explosives." Akar explained.

He said Ankara supports the Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah and his government and will do all required for maintaining calm till December elections, reiterating that Greece's efforts to annul Libya-Turkey maritime MoU are sterile.