Turkey's parliament approved a security and military cooperation deal with Libya's UN-recognised unity government based in Tripoli on Saturday. Oil-rich Libya has been mired in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi eight years ago. While the GNA is desperate to repel Haftar's forces from the outskirts of Tripoli, analysts say Ankara has other geopolitical interests. Turkey does not have an air base close enough to Libya to carry out strikes discreetly, as Delalande said the UAE does from Egypt. Turkey is primarily interested in countering the influence of its regional rivals the UAE and Egypt, who support Haftar and oppose Islamist movements close to Ankara.

Source: Libya Today December 22, 2019 02:48 UTC