East Libya to push for Egypt military intervention if Sirte attacked
East Libya to push for Egypt military intervention if Sirte attacked: Libya’s eastern parliament will formally ask Egypt to send troops if the Turkey-backed west Libyan forces attack Sirte, the Associated Press reports, citing MENA. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi last week threatened to deploy troops to the east of the country if forces loyal to the Tripoli-based government move in Sirte, calling an attack on the strategic town a “red line.” Egyptian military action would be “legitimate … if the terrorist and armed militias crossed the red line,” MENA quoted speaker of the eastern House of Representatives Aguila Saleh as saying. Turkey’s entry into the war has turned the tide for the Tripoli government, bringing an end to Khalifa Haftar’s 14-month offensive on the capital and mounting a campaign to retake territory in the country’s east.