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Analysis: Will terrorism push Egypt towards ground intervention in Libya?

Monday 29-05-2017 - 11:13 AM

Al-Bawaba. Translated by: Ghada Dajani

Cairo - The repercussions of the Egyptian move towards Libya are still discussed by many research centers and political circles. Many observers stress that the latest Egyptian move will mark the start of a new phase of continuous and successive Egyptian military operations on Libyan territories, especially since Cairo will take advantage of the international momentum in favor of its movement in Libya.

Egyptian fighter jets have been launching air strikes against terrorist headquarters in Libya particularly in the Libyan city of Derna which is considered a hotspot for terrorists. Derna has been besieged by the Libyan army for some time in preparation that it might be raided. It seems that the Libyan army led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who took the city of Tobruk as their headquarters, will seize the Egyptian air strikes as an opportunity to launch ground raids on the region to regain control of the city.

Dr. Mohamed Balrouen, member of the Founding Committee for drafting Libya's Constitution

Egypt is depending on article 51 of the United Nations' Charter that gives every country the right to defend itself if there is a threat coming from neighboring countries. Turkey has sent “El Forat Shield” forces to the north of Syria under the pretext of defending its national security.

It is noteworthy that many questions have to be asked in conjunction with the continued Egyptian army operations in Libya. These questions include whether the Egyptian operations in Libya will stop at air strikes or is there a possibility that Egyptian soldiers will ground in Libya to combat terrorists then retreat immediately. Or will the Egyptian forces occupy Libyan land to provide the necessary support to the Libyan army.

Egypt has established a team of quick intervention forces which was formed to safeguard national security at home and abroad. Many observers speculate that the purpose of establishing these forces is to use them if the need arises especially since Libya has been witnessing a security breach for about six years since the overthrow of Libyan President Moamer Gaddafi.

On Sunday, the Libyan House of Representatives in Tobruk announced its support of the Egyptian air strikes on Libya, assuring that these operations were performed in coordination with the Libyan military forces. In an interview with the Russian news agency Sputnik, Abdalla Bilheik, Spokesperson of the Libyan House of Representatives said, “Of course we support the Egyptian strikes and this is not the first time for these strikes to be performed in coordination with the Libyan military forces.” Bilheak added, “The Libyan military forces have been besieging Derna for more than two years. We know that Derna houses a group of terrorist organizations that are occupying the city.” Regarding ground operations promoted by different media channels, Bilheik said, “I do not believe the situation necessitates any ground operations because the Libyan army are present on land and so there is no need for ground operations except if these operations come from Libyan forces who are completely surrounding Derna.”

Relatives mourn the victims in Maghagha chruch (Southern Egypt) - AP

The Egyptian army strengthened its control over the border triangle with Libya and Sudan in the area of Gabal El Owaynat in the far south west to ensure no infiltration of any extremists into Egyptian territory through this region. The rugged mountainous area will have strict measures to impose control over the border area. Attempts to target Egyptian national security will be confronted immediately as the Egyptian army will increase the number of air strikes to monitor the area and track it with advanced devices as well as multiplying the number of army forces there. Terrorist elements use a cluster of mountain roads in their attempts to sneak into Egypt from the Libyan and Sudanese borders. They also use people who are familiar with these roads that link Egypt to Libyan and Sudanese deserts to guide them in their movement.

In this regard, during an interview with RT, Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the raids performed by Egypt in Libya are justified self defense adding that Egypt will defend its national security via every possible means. Shoukry also assured that there is strong evidence that link the sites which were targeted in Libya with the Minya terrorist attack against Copts in Egypt, as well as previous terrorist incidents that occurred. He added that terrorists cannot remain safe and benefit from the Libyan institutions’ lack of control over the country’s territory and thus take the Libyan territory as a safe haven for training and organization to push foreign fighters and others to enter the Egyptian border and target Egyptian citizens. Furthermore, the Libyan air forces have been targeting terrorist groups in Derna according to their available resources. The operations performed by Egypt benefit the national Libyan army as these operations help in eliminating terrorists and radicals that the Libyan army are striving to combat as soon as possible.