Turkey’s Parliament Holds Emergency Session to Vote On Sending Troops to Libya

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media next to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media next to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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Turkey’s Parliament Holds Emergency Session to Vote On Sending Troops to Libya

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media next to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media next to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan anticipated Thursday’s parliament session to vote on sending troops to Libya, by calling on his country’s soldiers to achieve “epics” in the African country and to draw inspiration from the battles of the “Emir of the Ottoman sailors Hayreddin Barbarossa.”

In remarks on Wednesday, Erdogan said that his country “is going to take a new step in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean.”

“We hope that our soldiers in the eastern Mediterranean will achieve heroic epics, such as those achieved by the Emir of the Ottoman sailors Hayreddin Barbarossa” (1478 - 1546), he stated.

The Turkish Parliament convened in an emergency session on Thursday to discuss and vote on a motion submitted by the government to obtain a mandate to send soldiers to Libya, at the request of the Libyan National Reconciliation government, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, based on an agreement of understanding in military and security cooperation signed between the two sides on November 27.

The Republican People’s Party, the largest of the Turkish opposition parties, announced its refusal to send forces to Libya, explaining that it would vote against granting the government the mandate, while the Nationalist Movement Party, which was allied with the Justice and Development within the framework of the People’s Alliance, said that that its 49 deputies would vote in favor of the motion.

In the same context, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the Skhirat agreement in Libya “requires the support of the government of national reconciliation”, which it described as “legitimate and internationally recognized.”

Erdogan said last month that Sarraj requested the Turkish deployment, after he and Sarraj signed a military deal that allows Ankara to dispatch military experts and personnel to Libya.

Ankara says the deployment is vital for Turkey to safeguard its interests in Libya and in the eastern Mediterranean.



Blaze at Cairo Telecom Building Kills 4 and Disrupts Internet, Phone

A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Blaze at Cairo Telecom Building Kills 4 and Disrupts Internet, Phone

A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A boy wearing a mask looks on, as firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a telecommunications building in the Ramses district of downtown Cairo, Egypt July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Four workers were killed and at least 22 others were injured in a fire that broke out on Monday at a key data center in Cairo, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the spokesperson at Egypt's Health Ministry, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The blaze at a Telecom Egypt facility, which state TV said was contained on Monday, caused disruptions to communications across the capital.

Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, said in a statement on Tuesday that services will be gradually restored within 24 hours.

In a statement on Tuesday, Telecom Egypt said it mourned the employees that lost their lives and offered support for their families.

The fire halted phone calls, and disrupted internet access, with internet monitoring group Netblocks saying network data showed national connectivity at 62% of ordinary levels.

The health ministry posted alternative numbers for ambulance services across different governorates in case people were unable to reach its main hotline.

Besides phone calls, some digital banking services were also impacted including credit cards, ATM machines and online transactions, a bank source and residents said on Monday. Banks had already been closed for the day.

The injuries were mostly because of smoke inhalation, health ministry spokesperson Ghaffar said on Monday.

The state news agency MENA said on Monday the fire had been prevented from spreading to the entire building and neighboring rooftops.

An initial examination indicated that the fire was likely to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, MENA cited a security source as saying.