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| Turkish troops start moving toward Libya – Erdogan | Turkish troops start moving toward Libya – Erdogan |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Turkey has begun deploying troops to Libya for “coordination and stability,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, revealing that Ankara will establish an operational center in the country. | Turkey has begun deploying troops to Libya for “coordination and stability,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, revealing that Ankara will establish an operational center in the country. |
| The Turkish military has already started moving “slowly” towards Libya, Erdogan revealed late on Sunday. The scope of Ankara’s involvement in the years-long conflict is still unknown. | The Turkish military has already started moving “slowly” towards Libya, Erdogan revealed late on Sunday. The scope of Ankara’s involvement in the years-long conflict is still unknown. |
| The deployment of Turkish troops was greenlighted by the country’s parliament on Thursday. The move followed a request for military assistance by Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj who heads the UN-backed, Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). The GNA is entangled in a years-long conflict with another body claiming to be the real government of the shattered country – the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR). | |
| The HoR is supported by a major military force – the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), led by strongman Khalifa Haftar. The LNA launched a large assault against the GNA early in 2019, reaching the outskirts of Tripoli but failing to actually storm the capital. The offensive seemingly picked up pace back in December, when Haftar announced a new push for the capital. | |
| Turkey’s decision has drawn the ire of the GNA’s rivals – Haftar declared ‘jihad’ against Turkey, vowing to throw the “invaders” out of the country. The HoR stuck with more conventional diplomatic actions, officially cutting all ties with Ankara and accusing the rival PM of treason. | |
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