Libyan tribes okay Egyptian army’s intervention in Libya

Leaders of Libyan tribes have expressed their support for a military intervention of the Egyptian army in the oil rich country.

 

This came at a meeting Thursday with Egypt’s President Fattah al-Sisi who made it clear that he will not “stand idle in the face of threats to the national security of Egypt and Arab countries.

 

The Libyan delegation, led by Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Notables, discussed the way to set up a joint plan between the two countries.
Egypt is backing army rebel commander Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya opposed to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

The GNA, thanks to Turkey, has managed to roll back Haftar’s push to seize capital Tripoli.

Ankara, under a security and maritime agreement signed with the GNA, has sent troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries to prop up the Tripoli-based weak government.

This week, the eastern Libyan parliament in principle requested the intervention of the Egyptian army to help flash out Turkey.

Following a series of victories over Haftar, GNA forces are gearing up to seize the city of Sirte, located around 800 km from Egypt’s western borders. Seized last year by Haftar, the city is gateway to Libya’s oil crescent.

Egypt has warned the GNA against the seizure of Sirte that it described as a red line and called on the Libyan factions for negotiation and ceasefire.

Turkey has rejected the proposal, arguing that Haftar must return the city and Jufra airbase to its ally as pre-conditions for any talks.

Al-Sisi, according to his spokesman Bassam Radi, told the Libyan tribes who came from Benghazi that Egypt’s goal is to “activate the free will” of the Libyan people to have a better future for their country.