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Libya Developments: Turkish Troops Arrive in Tripoli within Days


Fri 03 Jan 2020 | 11:50 AM
Nawal Sayed

Turkey will send first batch of military troops to Libya within less than two minutes, according to Egyptian sources. Turkey passed a bill allowing troop deployment to Tripoli, according to the UAE-based Al-Arabiya satellite channel on Thursday. 

“Members of the Muslim Brotherhood group, banned and labelled as a terrorist group in Egypt, UAE, Russia and Saudi Arabia, will arrived in Turkey early next week to hold talks with the group’s leading members residing in Turkey.

A few hours before Ankara ratified the bill on Thursday, a number of Turkish soldiers had arrived in Libya where they were convened with commanders of military militias affiliated to the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez Al Sarraj. 

Senior Egyptian sources told Al-Arabiya that Egypt formed a committee to discuss the Libyan developments and their influence on the Egyptian national security. 

The committee embraces ministers of defense and foreign affairs and chiefs of military and general intelligence services. 

According to the sources, the committee is responsible for handing over daily reports to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on the latest situation in Libya and procedures that Cairo should follow to protect its national security.

"Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Thursday that outsiders were complicating the situation in Libya," the White House said.

It was not clear which countries or entities Trump was referring to, and a White House statement offered no other details.

Although the Turkish deployment is not imminent, Erdogan has said troops would support Serraj's GNA.

Trump and Erdogan "stressed the importance of diplomacy in resolving regional issues," the Turkish presidency said in a statement about the call, adding that they also discussed Syria.

"At least eight people were killed on Wednesday when the Syrian army launched missiles that struck a shelter for displaced families in Idlib province," witnesses and residents said.

"The leaders agreed on the need for de-escalation in Idlib, Syria, in order to protect civilians," the White House said in its statement.

https://see.news/analysis-why-is-turkey-interested-in-libya/