Turkey's parliament has authorised the deployment of troops to Libya to help the UN-backed government in Tripoli battle forces loyal to a rival government that is seeking to capture the capital.
Turkish politicians voted 325-184 at an emergency session in favour of a one-year mandate allowing the government to dispatch troops amid concerns that Turkish forces could aggravate the conflict in Libya and destabilise the region.
The Tripoli-based government of Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj has faced an offensive by the rival regime in the east and commander General Khalifa Haftar.
Members of Turkish parliament vote to send Turkish forces to Libya. Source: EPA
The fighting has threatened to plunge Libya into violent chaos rivalling the 2011 conflict that ousted and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Mr Sarraj requested the Turkish deployment, after he and Mr Sarraj signed a military deal that allows Ankara to dispatch military experts and personnel to Libya.
That deal, along with a separate agreement on maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya, has drawn ire across the region and beyond.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Source: AAP
Ankara says the deployment is vital for Turkey to safeguard its interests in Libya and in the eastern Mediterranean, where it finds itself increasingly isolated as Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel have established exclusive economic zones paving the way for oil and gas exploration.
"A Libya whose legal government is under threat can spread instability to Turkey," ruling party legislator Ismet Yilmaz argued in defence of the motion.
The motion allows the government to decide on the scope, amount and timing of any mission by Turkish troops.
Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay told the state-run Anadolu Agency that Turkey would send "the necessary number (of troops) whenever there is a need".
But Libya's forces based in the country's east say they have called on citizens to take up arms against Turkish troops if they deploy to fight against them in the ongoing civil war.
In a statement Thursday on Twitter, the self-styled Libya National Army, led by commander Hafter, said it was the people's "duty" to fight to protect the homeland.
