Egypt threatens "direct intervention" in Libya if GNA progresses

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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi warned on Saturday June 20 that any advance by Ankara-supported forces of the Government of National Unity (GNA) towards the strategic city of Sirte, Libya, could lead to "direct" intervention from Cairo.

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With support from Ankara, forces loyal to the GNA - based in Tripoli and recognized by the UN - have garnered important victories since the beginning of June, regaining control of the whole of northwest Libya . The rival troops of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, a strong man from eastern Libya supported among others by Egypt, have not stopped falling in recent weeks , suffering setbacks on the ground.

The forces of the GNA nevertheless remain hampered in their advance towards the coastal city of Sirte , strategic lock towards the East and under the control of Marshal Haftar. Birthplace of ex-dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Sirte, as well as Al-Joufra further south, represent a "  red line  ", warned President Sissi, during a speech broadcast on television. If this line is crossed, the security of Egypt, which shares a porous border with Libya, will require "  direct intervention  " by Egyptian forces in the country, he said.

"  Any direct intervention by Egypt has become legitimate at the international level, whether under the UN Charter on self-defense or based on the only legitimate authority elected by the Libyan people: the Parliament Libyan  "based in the East, said Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. "  If the Libyan people ask us to intervene, it is a signal to the world that Egypt and Libya share (...) common interests, security and stability,  " he added.

Egyptian soldiers fear that in the event of Marshal Haftar's forces overflowing, the Libyan Islamist militias and the jihadists transferred from Syria by Turkey will head for Egypt. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the sworn enemy of the Egyptian head of state, recalls our correspondent in Cairo, Alexandre Buccianti . He wants the Muslim Brotherhood to return to power in Egypt. For Cairo, Erdogan seeks to do so via Libya, hence the need to prevent the forces supported by Ankara from approaching the Egyptian border.

For the GNA, this is "  interference in (internal) affairs and a serious threat to the national security of Libya  " and "international peace," said Mohamad Amari Zayed, member of the GNA Presidential Council. . "  There can be no red lines inside our borders and on our lands,  " he said. “No foreign party will have authority over its people. "

(with AFP)

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