Opposition to Turkey's Libya move grows

CAIRO/ANKARA－The Cairobased Arab League expressed on Thursday its opposition to approval by the Turkish Parliament of the government's move to deploy troops to war-torn Libya.

The pan-Arab body considered the move a "promotion of the ongoing conflict" in Libya, after Turkish lawmakers voted 325-184 at an emergency session in favor of a one-year mandate allowing the government to dispatch the troops. The body is among those concerned that Turkish forces could aggravate the conflict in Libya and destabilize the region.

The Tripoli-based government of Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, backed by the United Nations, has faced an offensive by militias in the east and forces loyal to a government in the northeastern city of Tobruk allied with the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, or LNA, led by Khalifa Haftar.

The fighting has threatened to plunge Libya into violent chaos rivaling the 2011 conflict that led to the ousting and killing of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. Libya has been locked in a civil war since the killing of Gadhafi.

Turkey, along with Qatar, backs the Sarraj government, while their rivals－the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt－support the LNA.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Sarraj requested the Turkish deployment after he and Sarraj signed a deal that allows Ankara to dispatch military experts and personnel to Libya. That deal, along with a separate agreement on maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya, has led to anger across the region and beyond.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry condemned "in the strongest language" the Turkish Parliament's authorization to deploy troops, saying Turkey would carry full responsibility for the negative effect it would have on the stability of the Mediterranean region.

The leaders of Greece, Israel and Cyprus denounced the move as a "dangerous threat to regional stability" and a "dangerous escalation" of the Libyan conflict that violates UN resolutions and undermines international peace efforts.

Ankara said the deployment is vital for Turkey to safeguard its interests in Libya and in the eastern Mediterranean.

"A Libya whose legal government is under threat can spread instability to Turkey," Ismet Yilmaz, a legislator from Turkey's ruling party, said in defense of the motion. "Those who shy away from taking steps on the grounds that there is a risk will throw our children into a greater danger."

Turkey's main opposition party, CHP, had vowed to vote against the motion, arguing that the deployment would embroil Turkey in another conflict and make it a party to the further "shedding of Muslim blood".

The LNA said in a statement that it had called on citizens to take up arms against Turkish troops if they deploy to fight against the LNA in the country's civil war.

Erdogan and US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation and discussed the situation in Syria and in Libya, the Turkish president's office said soon after the vote. A brief statement said they discussed "the importance of diplomacy in solving regional issues".

Talks in Germany

Ghassan Salame, the UN envoy to Libya, said Turkish troops on the ground would further disrupt the chances for future peace, though he still expects talks in Germany proposed for the middle of this month to take place. He said interference by regional powers means that Libyans could lose control of their country's fate.

"The direct military involvement of member states in the Libyan conflict is escalating, inflaming, and protracting the conflict," he said via e-mail.

Mokhtar Ghobashi, deputy chairman of the Arab Center for Political and Strategic Studies, a think tank, ruled out the possibility of Egyptian direct military interference in Libya, despite its strong condemnation of the Turkish move.

"I believe what Turkey is doing now aims at threatening Haftar to stop his attack on Tripoli," said Ghobashi, a political expert.

The Egyptian expert noted that the Turkish Parliament's approval is not restricted to sending troops to Libya but also covers humanitarian and medical aid.

"If the Turkish troops will be deployed in Libya, they will focus on defending Serraj and Tripoli, but they will not be engaged in fighting and will only provide logistical assistance," Ghobashi said.

The settlement of the Libyan crisis requires an agreement between the top figures of Libya's warring parties, including Haftar and Serraj, he added.

Xinhua - Agencies