LNA accuses Turkey of sending 'terrorists' to Libya

A spokesman for the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) on Monday accused the Turkish government of sending "extremist terrorists" into the country.

Turkey's government had earlier on Monday submitted a motion to parliament seeking approval to deploy troops to Libya, arguing the conflict in the North African country could escalate into a civil war and threaten Turkey's interests.

Speaking in Benghazi, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Mesmari said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was trying "to hit two birds with one stone, transporting these terrorists to Libya instead of staying in Turkey."

The Turkish motion seeks a one-year mandate to deploy troops in the conflict-ridden country, maintaining that developments in Libya threaten Turkey's interests there, including Turkish businesses in the country and Turkish vessels sailing in the Mediterranean, according to the text of the motion reported by Anadolu.

Erdogan has said the UN-supported government in Libya asked Ankara to send troops to help authorities in Tripoli defend the city from an offensive by rebel forces.

But the LNA, headed by General Khalifa Hifter, said Turkey was sending terrorists from groups such as the Islamic State, including "suicide bombers and specialists in explosives," for its own benefit.

Since the fall of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has suffered a sharp split in state institutions between the east, which is run by the House of Representatives (HoR) with the support of the LNA, and the West in which the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) is stationed.

Erdogan said the government of Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj in Tripoli "invited" Turkey to send troops after the two recently signed a military cooperation agreement.

Ankara and Tripoli have also signed a maritime border deal and both agreements have met with criticism across the region and beyond.

Hifter is backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia, while the Tripoli-based government receives aid from Turkey, Qatar and Italy.