The statement came soon after
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...'s parliament authorized the deployment of troops to Libya to support their rivals, the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
-backed government in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
In a statement Thursday on Twitter, the LNA, led by commander Gen. Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
, said it was the people's "duty'' to fight to protect the homeland.
Libya's authorities in the east have several times throughout the war encouraged its citizens to take up arms and volunteer for police or military forces.
Militias are fighting on both sides of Libya's ongoing conflict.
The Tripoli-based government of Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj has faced an offensive by the rival regime in the east and forces loyal to Haftar. The fighting has threatened to plunge Libya into violent chaos rivaling the 2011 conflict that ousted and killed longtime dictator Muammar Qadaffy
...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie
bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland...
Fighting around Tripoli escalated in recent weeks after Hifter declared a "final'' and decisive battle for the capital. He has the backing of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as La Belle France and Russia, while the Tripoli-based government receives aid from Turkey, Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
and Italia.
Turkey's parliamentary approval of a military deployment comes amid increased cooperation between the country and the UN-supported government in Tripoli. The recent escalation comes ahead of expected peace talks between the warring parties in Germany early this year.
Ghassan Salame, the UN envoy to Libya, said
"The direct military involvement of member states in the Libyan conflict is escalating, inflaming, and protracting the conflict,'' he said via email.