- Title: Libyan demonstrators protest against Turkey intervention
- Date: 3rd January 2020
- Summary: BENGHAZI, LIBYA (JANUARY 3, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CLAPPING AND WAVING LIBYAN AND EGYPTIAN FLAGS GATHERED PROTESTERS HOLDING LIBYAN FLAG / PROTESTER HOLDING PHOTO OF EASTERN COMMANDER KHALIFA HAFTAR (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER, KHALED TARJEMAN, SAYING: "What you see now is a true representation of the mood of the street, of the trust that the people have in commander Khalifa Haftar, and of the trust in the armed forces that they can stand against this aggression, that they can stand against those who tamper with its (Libya's) sovereignty and soil. This is Benghazi, and those are our protectors, the armed forces." PROTESTERS WAVING FLAGS, HOLDING BANNERS OF KHALIFA HAFTAR AND SYRIAN LEADER BASHAR AL ASSAD PROTESTERS HOLDING FLAGS AND BANNERS / SIGN READING (Arabic): "No to the terrorist intervention of Erdogan in Libya" PROTESTERS PLAYING INSTRUMENTS AND CHANTING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CHANTING AND JUMPING PROTESTERS GATHERED / PROTESTERS STANDING ON VEHICLE VARIOUS OF GATHERED PROTESTERS VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED AND RAISING FLAGS IN PROTEST AGAINST TURKEY INTERVENTION
- Embargoed: 17th January 2020 20:55
- Keywords: Benghazi Erdogan Libya Tripoli Turkey intervention
- Location: BENGHAZI, LIBYA
- City: BENGHAZI, LIBYA
- Country: Libya
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001BUME4HZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Around 3,000 demonstrators took to the streets of the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Friday (January 3), protesting Turkish military support for their Tripoli-based rivals.
Protesters said they had turned out to oppose a Turkish "invasion" of Libya, which was part of the Ottoman Empire before coming under Italian occupation.
Demonstrators gathered at the centre of the city, holding up banners of eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar, and waving Libyan flags alongside flags of nations known to support Haftar, including Egypt.
Crowds chanted, danced, and held up banners reading "No to the terrorist intervention of Erdogan in Libya".
Turkey's parliament on Thursday (January 2) overwhelmingly approved a bill that allows troops to be deployed in Libya, in a move that paves the way for further military cooperation between Ankara and Tripoli but is unlikely to put boots on the ground immediately.
President Tayyip Erdogan said last week Turkey would deploy troops in Libya to support Fayez al-Serraj's internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
The GNA last month requested Turkish support as it fends off an offensive by Haftar's forces, which are backed by Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan.
Fighting and air strikes continue around Tripoli, where the U.N. refugee agency said three mortars had fallen on Thursday close to an overcrowded transit centre housing around 1,000 migrants in the centre of the city.
(Production: Ahmed al-Rabei, Nadeen Ebrahim, Eleanor Whalley) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None