Turkey allows the extension of Libya troop spread for 18 month

The Anadolu state news agency declared that Turkey’s parliament allowed on Tuesday an 18-month expansion of its troop deployment in Libya to support the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

Turkey’s support GNA in Tripoli helped confront an attack by eastern Commander Khalifa Haftar in April 2019.

The parties reached a ceasefire deal in October, ending the fighting officially and facilitate the way for elections at the end of next year.

Turkey’s presence in Libya is associated with its large interests in the eastern Mediterranean; it is actually looking for natural gas in contested waters demanded by Cyprus in Greece.

Ankara concludes a deal with the GNA leadership in November 2019 that extended Turkey’s maritime alleges in the Mediterranean in exchange for military support. Turkey’s parliament authorized the first one-year troop spread to Libya in January of this year.