Mucahit Aydemir
22 July 2020•Update: 22 July 2020
TRIPOLI
A senior Libyan official on Tuesday described Egyptian parliament’s decision on authorizing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to militarily intervene in Libya as “declaration of war”.
“Egyptian parliament approval of troops deployment outside its western borders is a declaration of war on Libya and violates Arab League and UN charters,” Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said late Tuesday in a tweet which he later removed.
“Foreign forces on Libyan grounds are enemy. WE WILL NOT HESITATE defending our nation’s sovereignty, security and freedom,” Bashagha said in the same tweet.
In a move likely to worsen tensions in North Africa, Egypt’s parliament on Monday approved a proposal empowering military intervention in neighboring Libya, according to state media.
In a secret vote chaired by Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal, the parliament authorized al-Sisi to “take all necessary measures to protect the country's national security,” Egyptian daily Al Gomhuria reported.
The decision comes a week after Libya’s Tobruk parliament, affiliated with warlord Khalifa Haftar, gave Egypt the green light to militarily intervene in Libya under the pretext of "protecting the national security" of both countries.
Last month, al-Sisi threatened military intervention over Sirte and Jufra, calling them a “red line.”
Since April 2019, Haftar's illegitimate forces have launched attacks on the Libyan capital of Tripoli and other parts of northwestern Libya, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths, including civilian women and children.
But the Libyan government has recently achieved significant victories, pushing Haftar's forces out of Tripoli and the strategic city of Tarhuna.
Haftar has been supported internationally by Russia, France, Egypt, and the UAE.
