Turkey’s military intervention is forcing the Libyan parliament to seek help from its neighbours.
The President of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aghila Saleh, said that people would appeal to Egypt if pro-Turkish militants fighting on the side of the so-called National Accord Government cross the “red line”. The “red line” refers to the capture of Sirte, east of Tripoli. The population centre is strategically important, so militants loyal to the NTC regularly try to capture it.
“If the TNC takes Sirte, we will ask Egyptian forces to help us”, – Saleh said.
At the same time, the Libyan House of Representatives drew attention to Ankara’s efforts to bring together more than 15,000 Islamists in Libya who had previously fought in Syria as part of the Muslim Brotherhood,* al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
As News Front earlier reported, the Libyan National Army of Marshal Khalifa Haftar resumed its offensive on Tripoli late last year. The government then asked Ankara for support, after which Turkish loyal jihadis came to help local militants.
The Libyan crisis began in 2011. Muammar Gaddafi was then overthrown in an armed coup d’état, which created a dual power in the country. Thus, the so-called Government of National Accord was formed in Tripoli with Western support, which refused to recognize the Libyan Parliament in the city of Tobruk, which had nominated General Haftar as Commander-in-Chief.