Turkey's Erdogan cleared for a new military intervention, this time in Libya
Turkey’s parliament is expected to authorize President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday to order the deployment of troops to Libya to back the UN-recognized government against rival forces, deepening a proxy war that’s drawn in Russia and regional powers.
The one-year mandate would give Erdogan the power to decide the size, makeup and duration of the force to be dispatched at the request of the government of Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. Erdogan’s AK Party and its nationalist ally, MHP, control a majority in Turkey’s parliament, so approval is all but assured.
The deployment is expected to augment the defence of Sarraj’s Tripoli-based government against forces aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar, which are backed by Russian mercenaries, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey’s involvement could complicate international efforts to end the divisions that have roiled the country since the overthrow of strongman Moammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Haftar is allied with a rival administration based in the eastern city of Tobruk. He already controls most of Libya’s oil facilities, as well as chunks of territory in the country’s east and south. Haftar was able to renew his stalled offensive on the capital, Tripoli, after Russian mercenaries intervened in September.
The plan to deploy Turkish forces in Libya is aimed “eliminating attacks on interests of Turkey and Libya by illegal armed groups and terrorist organizations,” the text of the mandate said.
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