Arab League's permanent representatives meet at its headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss developments in Libya and the possibility of an escalation thereBy Mohamed el-ShahedThe Arab League called Tuesday for efforts to "prevent foreign interference" in Libya in the wake of military and maritime agreements signed by Turkey with the U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli. They also expressed "serious concern over the military escalation further aggravating the situation in Libya and which threatens the security and stability of neighboring countries and the entire region". On Monday, the U.N.'s Libya envoy, Ghassan Salame, said the deals signed by Turkey and the Tripoli government represented an "escalation" of the conflict wracking the North African country. In November, Ankara signed a security and military cooperation deal and also inked a maritime jurisdiction agreement with the Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital. In addition, Turkey is preparing to hold a vote in parliament on deploying troops in support of the GNA which is battling forces of eastern military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

Source: Libya Today December 31, 2019 17:03 UTC