During the meeting, the two ministers stressed their rejection of what they called the Turkish escalation in Libya’s ongoing conflict, calling the move a violation of international law. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Sunday evening that he was beginning the deployment of Turkish army units to Libya, under the pretext of supporting the militias allied to the Libyan Government of National Accord in Tripoli, which are currently fighting off an offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army. France, Russia, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates have supported Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army, while Turkey, Qatar, and Italy back the UN-supported GNA. Libyan media and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya channel reported that fighters of different nationalities have arrived in Tripoli from Syria per Turkish request, as well as intelligence elements from the Turkish army, who will prepare to receive the coming Turkish forces. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-YoumImage: In this May 9, 2019 file photo, provided by Egypt’s presidency media office, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, right, walks with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army, in Cairo, Egypt (Egyptian Presidency Media office via AP, File)

Source: Egypt Independent January 07, 2020 10:18 UTC