TRIPOLI, Jan 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — The commander of the east-based Libyan rebel army on Friday declared military mobilization against Turkey’s plan to send troops to Libya to support the UN-backed government.
General Khalifa Haftar declared the mobilization in a televised speech, saying the ongoing fighting will intensify, and the battle “is no longer for the liberation of the capital.”
The Turkish parliament passed a motion in an emergency session on Thursday, authorizing the government to deploy troops in Libya for a one-year period.
On Nov 27, 2019, Ankara and the Tripoli-based UN-backed government signed two separate memoranda of understanding on security cooperation.
Since early April, the east-based army has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli in an attempt to take the city. — NNN-XINHUA