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In this file 2019 picture, President Al Sissi and Ali Abdul Al, speaker of Egypt’s parliament, receive a standing ovation during the former’s visit to the parliament headquarters in Cairo. Image Credit: AFP

Abu Dhabi: With the escalation of tension in Libya, the Egyptian parliament is set to hold a session today described by its speaker as “important”. It will be to authorise President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to send the armed forces to Libya, in response to a Turkish escalation represented in sending missiles and approaching the red line identified by Cairo in the city of Sirte and Al Jafra base.

The Turkey-backed Government of National Accord’s (GNA) forces Sunday came close to crossing the red line set by the Egyptian president last month, pushing with more massive military reinforcements and moving their fighters towards the strategic city of Sirte controlled by the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

For its part, Turkey sent T-22 Sakarya missiles, which it had previously tried in Syria, to support GNA forces, as part of its preparations to attack Sirte and Al Jafra base. Ankara also sent two Lockheed C130E and A400M military cargo planes to the Al Watiya and Misrata bases.