Arab League's permanent representatives meet at its headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo on December 31, 2019, to discuss developments in Libya and the possibility of an escalation there. (AFP)
Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez has criticised Libya's internationally recognised government after it thanked only some Arab countries for their support for Libya during a recent Arab League's (AL) meeting.
The Tripoli-based government on Wednesday expressed its "appreciation to Qatar, Sudan and the foreign ministers...of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania for their supportive stance towards Libya" during an urgent meeting of the Arab league held in Cairo a day earlier to discuss the latest developments in the North African country.
In a tweet late on Wednesday, the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson slammed the Libyan government's statement.
"Isn't it strange that the Tripoli government only thanked [some] Arab countries, not others, for their supportive stance during the [Arab] League's meeting yesterday?" the spokesman said.
"The invitation came from Egypt and the draft resolution 0of the league] came from Egypt," he said. "Thanking goes to all Arab countries for their unified stance rejecting any foreign interference in Libya and supporting the initial stances that we put forward."
In a resolution issued following its extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, the Al stressed its rejection of any forms of foreign interference in Libya, and expressed "grave concern" about military escalation in the conflict-ridden country.
It also affirmed that any foreign interference would contribute to facilitating the movement of extremists and foreign terrorist fighters into Libya.
Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would deploy troops to Libya after Fayez Al-Sarraj, the chairman of the Tripoli-based government, requested support, raising fears of further turmoil in the war-torn country and the entire region. Turkey's parliament is voting later on Thursday on whether to send Turkish troops.
The rival eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by commander Khalifa Haftar, has been fighting fierce battles in recent weeks to capture the capital Tripoli in the west of the country.
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