Following an official request for military support from Tripoli’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan announced that he will seek his parliament’s approval in January to meet this request for military aid. Prime Minister Erdogan has said that he will present the bill to parliament on January 7, 2020.
In November 2019, Turkish and Libyan officials signed a memorandum of understanding on security and military cooperation, however, this memorandum did not include troop deployments. One day prior to his announcement to send troops, Prime Minister Erdogan met with his Tunisian counterpart, President Kais Saied, and the two leaders discussed plans to establish a ceasefire in Libya.
As of December 2019, Turkey is not the only outside power involved in Libya’s conflict. The GNA, supported by Turkey and Qatar, is at war with the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), which is supported by Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and France.
