Turkey accepts invitation to deploy troops to Libya, Erdogan says
The Turkish Parliament will vote on sending soldiers to the north African country to support its internationally recognized government, but the deployment could entrench Turkey in Libya’s long-running internal strife as well as intensify regional tensions.
ISTANBUL — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he would send soldiers to Libya following an invitation from its internationally recognized government, escalating Turkey’s military commitment to the war-torn country and risking further discord with regional rivals.
Turkey agreed in November with Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA), which was established in 2016 under a United Nations-brokered deal, to a defense arrangement that includes sharing intelligence and shipping arms.
Now, Erdogan may up the stakes by putting Turkish soldiers on the ground in the north African country, which has been wracked by civil strife that has mutated into a proxy war stoked by neighboring countries, Persian Gulf states and European governments.
The GNA is battling to keep control of the capital Tripoli during an eight-month siege by commander Khalifa Hifter’s renegade Libya National Army (LNA). The offensive, which has killed more than 1,000 people, is but the latest chapter of violence in Libya since long-time dictator Moammar Gaddhafi was overthrown and killed by rebels backed by NATO in 2011.
