Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi said this week that his government desires peace and stability in neighboring Libya, but might be prepared to intervene with military force to protect Egypt’s western border and thwart the ambitions of Turkey and its militia allies.
Speaking at the dedication of a new base over the weekend, Sisi told Egyptian military personnel they should be ready for combat missions beyond Egypt’s borders, pointedly including Libya as a theater where Egyptian national security interests are threatened.
Sisi said Egypt has a legitimate right to intervene in Libya to defend its western border if Turkish forces and allied Libyan militia cross a “red line” between the cities of Sirte and Jufra. He spoke of Egyptian military intervention as though it were all but inevitable, warning that “those who interpreted our patience as weakness are mistaken” and promising Egyptian forces would withdraw “peacefully” after ensuring the “stability and security” of Libya.
Sirte is a stronghold for the Libyan National Army (LNA), the faction headed by General Khalifa Haftar and supported by Egypt, while Jufra is the location of an important LNA airbase.
The LNA laid siege to Tripoli, headquarters of the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), for months until Turkish intervention helped to push the LNA back. Broadly speaking, international supporters of the GNA cite its recognition by the United Nations as the legitimate government of Libya and regard Haftar as a brutal insurrectionist warlord, while Haftar supporters say the GNA is corrupt, too weak to unite Libya, and friendly with far too many jihadi terrorist gangs. READ MORE
