Libya: Parliament Votes Unanimously to Cut Ties with Turkey

The parliament of Libya voted unanimously on Saturday to cut ties with Turkey and close embassies in the two countries, according to parliament spokesman Abdullah Bleihaq.

The parliament referred the Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj and his foreign minister to the public prosecutor.

Moreover, the parliament categorically rejected the ratification of a military agreement with Turkey and voted to cut diplomatic ties with Ankara instead.

The head of the defense committee in parliament also demanded that Sarraj be charged with treason. The head of the foreign committee announced that parliament would ask the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency session.

The lawmakers said they may refer the situation to the International Court of Justice.

The foreign committee also called for an international and Arab action to prevent Turkish interference in Libya.

The meeting comes after Turkish lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill approving a military deployment in Libya to shore up the GNA in Tripoli.

The Tripoli-based government of Sarraj struck a military agreement with Turkey, which prompted Ankara to send its troops to Libya. Their aim is to confront Khalifa Haftar, the powerful Libyan military commander based in the eastern port of Tobruk.

Haftar, who commands the Libyan National Army, earlier declared mobilization to fight against Turkish troops, calling their looming deployment an invasion.

Libya, once one of the most prosperous nations in Africa, remains fractured and devastated since the 2011 NATO bombing campaign that helped militant forces oust and kill long-time leader Muammar Gaddhafi. 

After the war, the country became a playground for various competing militias, as well as a major human trafficking thoroughfare.

Turkey has already sent some Syrian rebels to fight in Libya and assembled more in training camps in Turkey to prepare for deployment, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an independent monitoring outfit.

https://see.news/libya-developments-turkish-troops-arrive-in-tripoli-within-days/