Erdogan slams Egypt’s ‘illegal’ actions in Libya as Cairo mulls military intervention

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at Egypt’s involvement in the ongoing conflict in Libya, condemning possible Egyptian military intervention as unlawful.

The Turkish leader claimed on Friday that Egypt’s actions in Libya in support of commander Khalifa Haftar are illegal. His incendiary comment was made after being asked about the possibility of Cairo intervening militarily in the conflict. 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi signaled on Thursday that he would consider using his country’s military forces to protect the Libyan port city of Sirte should it come under assault from forces loyal to the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). 

According to Sisi, Libyan tribal leaders authorized him to “protect Libyan sovereignty” during a meeting in Cairo. The idea of sending forces into neighboring Libya has received support from Egyptian lawmakers allied with Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA). 

Ankara has previously accused Egypt of violating a UN arms embargo in order to provide support to Haftar. Turkey’s ambassador to Paris, Ismail Hakki Musa, said earlier this month that the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were bypassing the blockade – and that France, charged with helping to enforce the embargo, was doing nothing to stop it.

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