Turkey to deploy troops in Libya after parliamentary approval
Turkey's parliament on Thursday authorised the deployment of troops to Libya to support the UN-backed government in Tripoli that is battling forces loyal to a rival government.
Turkish lawmakers voted 325-184 at an emergency session in favour of a one-year mandate allowing the government to dispatch troops, amid concerns that Turkish forces could aggravate the conflict in Libya and destabilise the region.
The deployment is aimed at putting pressure on rival eastern forces in Libya led by General Khalifa Haftar who have been challenging Fayez al-Sarraj’s internationally-recognised Government of National Accord.
Turkey has been flexing its military muscle under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, including most recently deploying troops over the border to Syria.
The Tripoli-based government of Mr Sarraj has faced an offensive by the rival regime in the east and forces loyal to commander Gen. Hafter. The fighting has threatened to plunge Libya into violent chaos rivaling the 2011 conflict that ousted and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Mr Erdogan said last month that Mr Sarraj requested the Turkish deployment after he and Mr Sarraj signed a deal that allows Ankara to dispatch military experts and personnel to Libya. That deal, along with a separate agreement on maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya, has led to anger across the region and beyond.
Its intervention in Libya would pit it against regional rivals including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. It would also see its forces fighting on the opposite side of Russia just as the two countries repair previously strained ties.
Mr Erdogan has repeatedly accused Russia of sending private mercenaries to support Gen Haftar's forces, though this has been denied by Moscow.
Ankara says the deployment is vital for Turkey to safeguard its interests in Libya and in the eastern Mediterranean, where it finds itself increasingly isolated as Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel have established exclusive economic zones paving the way for oil and gas exploration.
The government has not revealed details about the possible Turkish deployment. The motion allows the government to decide on the scope, amount and timing of any mission.
