Today, Monday, the Turkish presidency asked parliament to vote on a mandate note regarding sending troops to Libya to confront the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter, and justified this by protecting Turkish interests, supporting the legitimate government, and ending the suffering of civilians and preventing the spread of terrorism.
The mandate note, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stated that the efforts that Libya started in the aftermath of the February 2011 protests to build a democratic state were in vain due to armed conflicts, and that the failure of ceasefire efforts and the establishment of a political unit pushed for a Libyan political dialogue for a year under UN auspices, and resulted in the signing of the Skhirat agreement in Morocco on December 17, 2015.
The memo reminded that the national reconciliation government was established under the agreement, and won international recognition as the legitimate government. The Security Council also called on all countries and organizations to stop support and contacts with any other entity except the reconciliation government.
The memorandum added that the forces of Haftar, which calls itself the "Libyan National Army", which has no place in the Skhirat agreement, began on April 4 last attack on Tripoli to topple the legitimate government, and that it did not respond to all diplomatic efforts to end the clashes, and it targeted civilians and infrastructure .
The Turkish Presidency note noted that the attacks of Haftar exacerbate the humanitarian situation and create an environment conducive to the activities of terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and contribute to increasing the flow of refugees across the sea.
The memo considered that these developments constitute a threat to the entire region, including Turkey, especially with Haftar's forces announcing their intention to target Turkish interests in the region, such as Turkish companies operating in Libya and Turkish citizens there, and ships flying the Turkish flag.
The Turkish presidency note referred to a memorandum of understanding signed between Turkey and Libya that provides for the consolidation of social, political and economic relations, and also includes security and military cooperation, and it encourages the support of the legitimate government in Libya to form a disciplined and institutional army.
The memorandum stressed that estimating the time to send Turkish forces to Libya and the location of their deployment will be in the custody of the President of the Republic, according to the principles set by the President regarding taking all kinds of measures to eliminate risks and threats, and that the mandate period will be for one year subject to extension.