Benghazi FM condemns Turkey vote on Libya troops

Fresh protests erupted in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Friday after Turkey authorised the deployment of troops to Libya to support the UN-backed government in Tripoli that is battling forces loyal to a rival government seeking to capture the capital. Turkish lawmakers voted 325-184 at an emergency session in favour of a one-year mandate allowing the government to dispatch troops amid concerns that Turkish forces could aggravate the conflict in Libya and destabilise the region.

The Tripoli-based government of Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj has faced an offensive by the rival regime in the east and forces loyal to commander General Khalifa Hifter. The fighting has threatened to plunge Libya into violent chaos rivalling the 2011 conflict that ousted and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. In Benghazi, demonstrators expressed their anger at what they labelled a "Turkish invasion" of their country and chanted slogans in support of Hifter's regime.

The Foreign Affairs spokesperson of the east-based government, Abdelhadi Al-Hawaii, said in a news conference that the battle in Tripoli would be "swift and decisive." Al-Hwajj also added that his government was communicating with the UN Security Council, European countries, the African Union and the Arab League about the Turkish decision. Libya has been in turmoil since a civil war in 2011 toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. 

In the chaos that followed, the country was divided, with a weak UN-supported administration in Tripoli overseeing the country's west and a rival government in the east, aligned with the Libyan National Army led by General Khalifa Hifter. Each side is supported by an array of militias and foreign governments. The Libyan National Army and the eastern government enjoy the support of France, Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries while the Tripoli-based government is backed by Italy, Turkey and Qatar.