Members of the self-proclaimed eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) special forces gather in the city of Benghazi, on June 18, 2020. (Photo by AFP)
Turkey has warned that Egypt would embark on a "dangerous adventure" if it went ahead with a plan to deploy troops in the North African country.
Ibrahim Kalin, a top security adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, issued the warning in an interview with Reuters news agency on Wednesday after the Egyptian parliament gave a green light for possible military intervention in Libya.
Kalin underlined that any Egyptian deployment in the oil-rich African country would hamper efforts to end the conflict and would be risky for Cairo, saying, "I believe it will be a dangerous military adventure for Egypt."
Libya has been beset by chaos since the overthrow and killing of its long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi following a NATO operation in 2011.
The conflict has escalated into a regional proxy war fueled by foreign powers pouring weapons and mercenaries into the country.
Tensions escalated further last year after the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA) under rebel commander Khalifa Haftar moved toward Tripoli to seize the city, which was repelled by Libyan government forces.
The UN-backed Libyan government in Tripoli has the support of Turkey, while the LNA based in Benghazi is supported by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
A big escalation in Libya could risk igniting a direct conflict among the foreign powers that have poured in weapons and fighters in violation of an arms embargo.
Turkey and Russia agreed on Wednesday to press for a ceasefire in Libya, calling on Haftars rebel groups to withdraw from key positions for a credible truce to take hold.
Ankara and Moscow also vowed to facilitate the "advancement of the intra-Libyan political dialogue" in line with the 2020 Berlin Conference on Libya.
In January, a conference took place in the German capital in order to start a political process and reach a permanent ceasefire in Libya.
Several countries expressed commitment to support the truce, respect an arms embargo and support the UN-facilitated political process.
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/19618
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