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Proxy war in Libya

Proxy war in Libya

"Egypt and Libya: one nation, one destiny "

20 July 2020 g. Egyptian parliament unanimously voted for the possibility of using the country's armed forces outside its borders. It's obvious to everyone, that Egyptian troops will go into battle only in one place - in Libya.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi at the beginning of July promised to send troops to Libya for "Restoring security and stability". He now has a parliamentary mandate to openly support Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army. there is an opinion, that this decision should serve as a signal to Ethiopia, where is the construction of a large dam, which will change the water level in the Nile (Egypt is located in the basin of this river, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda).

10 July, Egyptian troops held a large-scale exercise "Resilience 2020" near the border with Libya, it was a message to Erdogan and a test of the army's combat readiness. Maneuvers practiced land invasion and coastal operations.

20 July, al-Sisi met in Cairo with the leaders of the Libyan tribes at the conference “Egypt and Libya: one nation, one destiny "; options for military support of these tribes by Egypt were discussed.

Proxy war in Libya

Decision, taken in Cairo, will change the balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey now openly supports the so-called Government of National Unity (PNS) Faiza Saraja in Tripoli, providing him with military assistance. Not everyone in the West likes Erdogan's actions in Libya. 6 July 69 members of the European Parliament made a written appeal, calling for economic sanctions against Turkey and personally against Erdogan. In addition to Libya, the appeal mentioned Turkey's aggression in Iraqi Kurdistan, Northern Syria and the suppression of democratic opposition in Turkey itself.

Proxy war in Libya

Turkish troops in Libya

An active opponent of Turkey's actions in North Africa is E. Makron. France initiated Operation Marine Guard off the coast of Libya under the guise of combating piracy and terrorism. At the very beginning of the operation, an incident occurred, when a French ship stopped a Tanzanian-flagged vessel for inspection on suspicion of trafficking in arms. The vessel was accompanied by Turkish frigates, who pointed radars at the French ship several times, threatening missile attack. The incident was documented and referred to NATO.. If we add the scandal with the change in the status of the Museum of St.. Sofia and Erdogan's support of Azerbaijan in the armed conflict with Armenia, then the situation looks alarming.

Proxy war in Libya

In the United States believe, that Turkey meets only one criterion for NATO membership - a market economy (by other criteria - no), but the alliance does not have a mechanism for excluding member countries. Therefore, the disagreements of the Western powers with Turkey within the framework of the North Atlantic bloc may become protracted.. A direct clash between Egypt and Turkey in Libya would be especially critical for the United States., Considering, as Turkey, and Egypt are officially allies of Washington.

As for Libya's neighbors, then the first signs of a political crisis are observed in Tunisia. There are growing contradictions between the Islamist party "Al-Nahda" and the opposition. An-Nahda has 52 seats in parliament (Total 217 places) and represents the largest political force. Al-Nahda is close to the Muslim brothers and supports the Faiz Saraj regime in Libya, waging war against the army of Khalifa Haftar. Officially, Tunisia speaks out from a position of neutrality in relation to the fighting forces in Libya, but, given the pace of escalation, this neutrality is unlikely to remain.

Algeria also supports the government in Tripoli and opposes the transfer of arms by Egypt to the Libyan tribes. Algerian troops are now deployed on the border with Libya, and the Ministry of Defense said, that the Egyptian intervention in Libya would be viewed as an attack on Algeria.

Khalifa Haftar is also supported by the United Arab Emirates (OAE, which is especially annoying for Turkey, as this "Arab Switzerland" was important for Ankara in terms of conducting financial transactions. Aid to the UAE is mainly carried out in money, although after the recent defeat of Haftar by the Turkish military and PNS forces, support for the Emirates was reduced.

Proxy war in Libya

The factor of historical memory also works in the Libyan proxy war. For centuries, the Ottoman Turks controlled the lands of today's Libya and left not the best memories of themselves.. In the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa, they are hostile to Turkey's claims to the role of regional leader. The Turkish version of Islam is not close to the Arabs either. Arabs associate their national revival with liberation from both European neo-colonialism, and from Turkish intervention.

The title photo: REUTERS / Ayman Al-Sahili

Leonid Savin

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