Libya MPs call for break with Turkey over military deal

BENGHAZI — Libyan deputies voted on Saturday for a break in diplomatic relations with Turkey over its controversial agreements with the UN-recognised government that is contested inside the North African country.

At an emergency meeting in the eastern city of Benghazi, parliament also urged the international community to withdraw recognition of the Government of National Accord (GNA) which MPs accused of "high treason" because of the maritime and military deals it signed with Ankara in November clearing the way for a Turkish military intervention on its side.

Parliament speaker Abdallah Bleheq said MPs voted “unanimously” to scrap the accords, which they likened to “a return of colonialism”, and to sever ties with Ankara.

The parliament, which was elected in 2014 and took refuge in eastern Libya, has been weakened by divisions within its ranks and the departure of around 40 members to Tripoli, the GNA-controlled capital.

Saturday’s meeting fell short of the required quorum, according to pro-GNA media, but there was no independent verification of the number of MPs who took part.

The parliament is allied with military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is at war with the GNA that is headed by Fayez Al Sarraj.

Meanwhile, Libya’s military strongman Khalifa Haftar has called on all Libyans to take up arms in response to a prospective military intervention from Turkey aimed at shoring up the UN-backed government in Tripoli.

The beleaguered Tripoli government, headed by Fayez Al Sarraj, has been under sustained attack since April by Haftar, who said in a televised address on Friday, “We accept the challenge and declare jihad and a call to arms.”

He urged “all Libyans” to bear arms, “men and women, soldiers and civilians, to defend our land and our honour”.

He said it was no longer a question of liberating Tripoli from the militias, but of “facing a coloniser”, accusing Ankara of wanting to “regain control of Libya”, a former province of the Ottoman Empire.