A journalist with the BBC has documented Egyptian M1A2 Abrams Tank companies being deployed to the border with Libya. Babak Taghvaee released footage of the tank deployment in a recent tweet on Sunday saying: ” Egyptian Army is now ready for war in Libya. This video recorded minutes ago shows 18 M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks of Egypt Army at the border with Libya ready to enter the country to be used against Turkish backed GNA‘s Islamist militias & Syrian mercenaries!”
#BREAKING: #Egyptian Army is now ready for war in #Libya. This video recorded minutes ago shows 18 M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks of #Egypt Army at the border with #Libya ready to enter the country to be used against #Turkish backed #GNA‘s Islamist militias & #Syrian mercenaries! pic.twitter.com/nbzz0H0chC
— Babak Taghvaee – Μπάπακ Τακβαίε – بابک تقوایی (B) (@BabakTaghvaee1) June 7, 2020
The ongoing Turkish presence in Libya places Ankara is at loggerheads with Egypt who fears that the Turkish military intervention in Tripoli will result in terrorists from the Muslim Brotherhood harassing Cairo from the border of Sudan. Turkey has entered Libya under the guise of protecting its current government against an coup from Warlord and Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Belqasim Haftar. Although Egypt hasn’t publicly supported Haftar, it is clear that the “mercenaries and terrorists” that Turkey has deployed into Libya is making Cairo uneasy.
In the past, Egypt warned against foreign military intervention in Libya. It has always opposed the Muslim Brotherhood’s dominating political power in Libya and has supported the Libyan army. Many people in Libya see Cairo as their main ally in their fight to protect their nation against Turkish occupation. Until now, Cairo hasn’t gone beyond issuing statements opposing the idea of a military escalation.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy has accused Egypt of backing the rebel group and of being one of the “real obstacles to peace in Libya.”
“Egypt’s years-long military support to putschist Haftar constitutes a clear violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” Aksoy added.
