Turkey plans to increase its forces in Libya in case of Egyptian intervention: Report

Fighters from an armed group loyal to the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) prepare ammunition in Libya, April 8, 2019. (File photo: AFP)

Turkey put in place a military plan in anticipation of a possible Egyptian intervention in Libya, Turkish Zaman newspaper reported on Thursday citing unnamed government officials.

The report said the Turkish government prepared the plan after Egypt’s parliament authorized on Monday the deployment of troops outside the country, allowing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to act on his threat of military action against Turkish-backed forces in Libya.

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Libya has plunged into chaos since the 2011 toppling of dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

Clashes between the two main warring parties in the North African country, the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar and the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Serraj, have intensified recently.

Many foreign powers have backed different sides of the conflict with varying degrees of support, with the most prominent countries being Turkey backing the GNA and Egypt backing the LNA.

The Turkish sources Zaman cited said: “Turkey is ready to respond to any attack on its forces in Libya, whomever the attacker maybe,” and added: “if Egypt send military forces to Libya, Turkey has a plan to increase its forces and military equipment in Libya to confront the Egyptian forces.”

Turkish President Recap Tayyip Erdogan’s top security adviser Ibrahim Kalin had recently said that his country did not want to escalate tensions in Libya or to confront Egypt in the North African country, but he stressed, however, Ankara’s continued support to the GNA.

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