Turkey may send troops to Libya if ‘invited’ by UN-backed Tripoli government – Erdogan

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara will consider deploying soldiers to help the United Nations-backed government in Libya fight off rival factions in the civil war-torn country.

Erdogan made the comment in a meeting with Tunisian President Kais Saied during a surprise visit to Tunisia on Wednesday. 

We haven’t been present anywhere uninvited. If there will be an invitation, we will assess it, of course.

Erdogan’s spokesperson previously told reporters that parliament is working on a bill that would allow soldiers to be deployed to Libya so they can help the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli in the western part of the country.

Two months ago, Ankara signed a security and military cooperation deal with the GNA, which was recently ratified by parliament.

Libya has been divided by warring factions after the US-led intervention toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The chief opponent of the GNA is the House of Representatives (HoR), based in the eastern city of Tobruk. Its army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has launched several successful offensives westward this year, reaching the suburbs of Tripoli.

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