Turkish troops could be in Libya in days, says Erdogan

TURKEY could send troops to support Libya’s embattled Un-backed government as early as next month, President Tayyip Erdogan declared yesterday, in a move which will fuel fears that the country’s civil conflict is turning into a proxy war between regional powers.

Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), is resisting a months-long offensive against its base in Tripoli by the renegade General Khalifa Haftar, whose forces surround the capital and have had support from Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Turkey has emerged as a key backer of the GNA, its lone ally in the region, and is believed to have supplied it with weapons despite a UN embargo.

Last month, it signed an accord with the GNA on security and military cooperation, and a deal on maritime boundaries which ends Turkey’s isolation in the east Mediterranean and paves the way for an offshore energy exploration programme that has alarmed neighbours including Greece.

“We will put the bill on sending troops to Libya on the agenda as soon as parliament opens,” Mr Erdogan told supporters in a speech. The legislation would pass around Jan 8-9, he said, opening the door to deployment.

Fathi Bashagha, the GNA interior minister, suggested that no invitation to Turkey had yet been made, although there could be such a request if necessary. Gen Haftar’s forces were not immediately available for comment.

Ankara has been talking for several weeks about the possibility of a Libyan military deployment. Its armed forces are already engaged against Kurdish fighters in north-eastern Syria.