Egypt's parliament approves troop deployment to Libya

Egypt's House of Representatives, packed with supporters of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, approved plans to send troops to “defend Egyptian national security” after a closed-door session on Monday. Egypt backs eastern-based Libyan forces while Turkey supports fighters allied with the U.N.-supported government in Tripoli, in the west..

Egypt's parliament has authorized the deployment of troops outside the country after the president threatened military action against Turkish-backed forces in Libya. The move could bring Egypt and Turkey, close U.S. allies that support rival sides in Libya's chaotic proxy war, into direct confrontation.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has called the strategic coastal city of Sirte a "red line" and warned that any attack on the town would prompt Cairo to intervene militarily to protect its western border with the oil-rich country. Egypt's House of Representatives, packed with supporters of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, approved plans to send troops to "defend Egyptian national security" after a closed-door session on Monday.

Egypt backs eastern-based Libyan forces while Turkey supports fighters allied with the U.N.-supported government in Tripoli, in the west.