Egypt Needs No Parliament Approval To Deploy Troops To Libya - Lawmaker

CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2020) Should Egypt resort to deploying troops to Libya, it would not need an approval by the parliament to do so, Mohamed Orabi, the country's former foreign minister and presently a member of parliament, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Libya's Tobruk-based House of Representatives � in opposition to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) � gave permission to the Egyptian armed forces to intervene in Libya should they see reasons for a preemptive strike against an imminent security threat to national security of both states.

"Egypt is following the events in Libya with concern, but such a decision [intervention of troops] will be made based on Egypt's will. It will be Egypt's choice, pursuing to protect the country's national security, and not simply an invitation by the Libyan parliament," Orabi said.

Orabi, who is also the head of the parliamentary commission on foreign affairs, said that there will be no need for lawmakers to approve an intervention in Libya as long as such an intervention pursues protection of national interests, rather than declaration of an offensive war.

"We are not declaring war against anyone, but rather we are protecting our national security. Therefore, the decision is up to the supreme commander, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi. The parliament's approval is needed for a declaration of a war, while this case is self-defense, protection of national interests," the lawmaker said, adding that the country's parliament has "long ago authorized the government to take any measures deemed necessary to protect national security."

In late June, Sisi said that his country had an internationally legitimate right to intervene in Libya should the GNA seize control over the strategic coastal Libyan city of Sirte and Al Jufra Airbase in the country's center. The Egyptian president also voiced an offer to equip and train tribes in Libya. The statements came as Sisi was carrying out an inspection of Egyptian troops near the border with Libya and told them to be ready to fight abroad, should the need arise.

Last week, Egypt's armed forces conducted comprehensive drills, codenamed Resolve 2020, in an area located very close to the Libyan border.

Since the onset of Libya's political disarray in 2011, the GNA has established itself as the power pole in the country's west with the center in Tripoli, while the rival Libyan National Army took control over the east with the center in Tobruk, where the House of Representatives has also settled.