Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel has started an official tour around a number of Arab countries, with the aim to sign security agreements on “countering the growing influence of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the region. Local media quoted intelligence sources as saying that the Egyptian army was “retreating from Libya,” adding that it was “pressing Turkey to retract its influence in North Africa.”In recent weeks, Kamel visited Sudan, Algeria and Morocco. On 5 February, the country’s foreign minister Sabri Bogadom met the Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to discuss the country’s crisis. READ: US to keep working with Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan on Blue Nile damKamel discussed “Ankara’s friendly relations with the Moroccan Islamic movement Justice and Charity.” Kamel is yet to visit Tunisia. Relations with Turkey have strained recently after Ankara has said it would establish a military base to support the Tripoli-based UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez Al-Sarraj.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 02, 2020 03:55 UTC