Parliament authorises Egypt action

TRIPOLI: Libya’s parliament has passed a motion authorising Egypt to intervene militarily if necessary to safeguard “national security” in light of what it termed a Turkish “occupation”.

The legislature backs military commander Khalifa Haftar, who fought a year-long — and ultimately unsuccessful — campaign to seize the western capital Tripoli from a United Nations-recognised unity government.

Gen Haftar is supported by neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, while the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has the backing of their regional rivals Turkey and Qatar.

The legislature has authorised “Egyptian armed forces to intervene to protect the national security of Libya and Egypt if they see an imminent danger to both our countries”.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah elSisi warned last month that his country could send troops into Libya, after the unity government pushed back Gen Haftar’s forces from around Tripoli following months of stalemate.

Libya has seen years of violence since the ouster of long-time leader Muammar Gadhafi in a Nato-backed 2011 uprising, with the GNA and the eastern parliament, elected in 2014, vying for power.

Relations between their respective backers in Cairo and Ankara have been deteriorating since 2013, when Mr Sisi led the army’s ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood figure close to Turkey.

Gen Haftar launched an offensive in April 2019 to seize the capital but the GNA took advantage of Turkish military support, including the use of drones, to re-impose its control over Libya’s northwest. Libya is also internally divided into pro- and anti-Haftar factions.