Khalifa Hifter

Türkiye's parliament on June 21 extended for another 18 months a mandate that allows the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya.

The mandate was renewed with the votes of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling party and its nationalist allies which hold a majority in parliament. An opposition party also voted in favor of the extension.

Syrian militants affiliated with groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are currently being sent by Turkey to fight on behalf of the UN-supported government in Libya, according to two Libyan militia leaders and a Syrian war monitor.

Libya's rival leaders have left Moscow without reaching agreement on a cease-fire deal proposed by Russia and Turkey in an effort to bring an end to the country's long-running civil war.

Turkey's parliament approved a security and military deal with Libya's UN-supported government Saturday  on the heels of a controversial maritime agreement earlier this month that has drawn international ire.

The deal allows Turkey to provide military training and equipment at the request of the Libyan government that controls the capital, Tripoli, and some of the country's west.

Two rival Libyan leaders committed themselves on July 25 to a cease-fire, working toward presidential and parliamentary elections and finding a roadmap to secure lawless Libya against terrorism and trafficking of all kinds, according to a document released by the French presidency.