Egypt preparing possible military intervention in Libya, ex-top official says

Egypt is readying its military for a possible intervention in neighbouring Libya, according to a former top-ranking member of its armed forces.

The country has been conducting land and sea exercises over the past few days and their size shows that Cairo is serious about moving its forces into Libya if need be, General Mahfouz Marzouq said, according to Al-Masdar News.

Marzouq made the comments as eastern Libya’s opposition parliament said Egypt should intervene militarily if they see an imminent threat to the security of the two countries. It issued the statement on Monday.

Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates are backing Libyan opposition leader General Khalifa Haftar and his military against the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, which is supported by Turkey and recognised by the United Nations as the only legitimate authority in the country.

Three important developments signal that Egypt may be preparing for a military operation, Marzouq said. Firstly, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi has said Egypt has the right under international law to intervene and was ready to arm and help train Libyan tribes combatting foreign interference in the country. Marzouq said.

Secondly, Sisi stated that any attempted military takeover of the Mediterranean city of Sirte and the Al-Jafra air base in Libya’s oil crescent were red lines for Egypt, providing him with the political justification for an armed intervention, Marzouq said. Turkey and the GNA say Sirte and Al-Jafra must be handed over before peace talks to end the fighting can begin.

The final point was that “the nature of the military exercises of the Egyptian armed forces and their size … and the types of weapons indicate that Egypt has begun strategic preparations for the main military operation,” he said.

Marzouq said that the naval part of the exercises held last week signalled that Egypt would enter Libya by air and sea, as well as by land, meaning there could be an “offensive operation to move forces over long distances and land them on the beach, in areas under the control of enemy forces.”

The manoeuvres showed that Egypt may be planning an attack deep into enemy territory, Marzouq said.