by Mahmoud Darwesh
TRIPOLI, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Although the UN-backed Libyan government has not officially announced its request for direct Turkish military intervention in Libya against the rival east-based army, media reports have confirmed this request which is expected to be revealed in the next few days.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that Turkey will introduce a bill to send troops to Libya as soon as the parliament resumes in response to the country's invitation.
"We go where we are invited. We don't go where we are not," Erdogan noted, referring to sending troops to support the UN-backed Libyan government.
"Now given that we have such an invitation, we'll accept it," he said.
Also, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced on Friday that Turkey is fully prepared to deploy its armed forces in Libya as required.
"A request for Turkish military assistance in Libya to stop military threats of Haftar (the east-based army commander) to seize Tripoli is not necessarily in the form of a ground military presence," a senior official in the Libyan Foreign Ministry told Xinhua.
"There are several ways in which Turkey can assist the Government of National Accord in expelling Haftar's forces from southern Tripoli, the most important of which is providing advanced air defense systems to restrict the ability of foreign aircraft supporting his forces in the air, as well as providing advanced drones and specific weapons that enable the government forces to move from defense to offense and regain sites they lost to Haftar's forces," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Discussions with Ankara to reach an integrated formula for the military support have been going on for weeks, he added.
Omran Al-Najeh, a Libyan military expert, believes Tripoli does not need direct Turkish military intervention because it may be detrimental to its status as the sole legitimate government in Libya.
"The Government of National Accord is reluctant to announce request for direct Turkish military intervention. No official, whether Prime Minister Fayez Serraj or Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, has explicitly made the request. This reveals the depth of the crisis and the pressure on the Government of National Accord," Al-Najeh told Xinhua.
"Directly requesting Turkey to interfere in its favor will invite regional and international parties on the front line to explicitly support Haftar in completing the process for taking control of Tripoli," he explained.
In fact, the security cooperation deals signed between the UN-backed Libyan government and Turkey are equivalent to direct military intervention as they provide full military and logistical support for the UN-backed government, the Libyan expert said.
On Nov. 27, Turkey and the UN-backed Libyan government signed two separate memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on security cooperation.
One of the two MoUs is a maritime boundary deal that covers areas also claimed by Greece. It was denounced by Greece, Egypt and Cyprus as a violation of international law.
Iman Jalal, a Libyan university professor, describes the controversy triggered by Tripoli's request for Turkish military intervention as a way to know positions of international parties regarding a possible military move.
"Turkey has recently been making massive political moves, starting with the intention of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin early next year, along with the moves made by Erdogan to Tunisia and his desire to visit Algeria as well, in an attempt to achieve international and regional consensus regarding any expected military move in Libya," she told Xinhua.
Erdogan arrived on Wednesday morning in Tunisia on a surprise visit to meet with his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied. They discussed the situation in Libya and the means to end the bloodshed in the neighboring country.
Interior Minister of the UN-backed government of Libya Fathi Bashagha said on Thursday that a Turkish-Tunisian-Algerian alliance was formed to support the UN-backed Libyan government.
However, the Tunisian presidency denied later in the day the country's involvement in any alliance with any party in Libya.
"Tunisia will not agree to be a member of any alliance," a presidential statement said.
The east-based army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli since early April, trying to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government.
Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, while more than 120,000 people have fled their homes from the violence.
