The European Union must "intervene" to help forge a negotiated peace settlement in war-torn Libya, two prominent centre-left lawmakers said on Thursday after Turkey's parliament backed the deployment of troops to support the internationally recognised government in Tripoli.
"We are very concerned about the Turkish parliament's all-clear to the despatch of troops to Libya," MPs Lia Quartapelle and Enrico Borghi, respectively members of the lower house of parliament's foreign affairs and defence committees, said in a statement.
"This decision will exponentially raise the risk of an all-out conflict in an already fragile and destabilised country," the statement added.
The lawmakers reiterated the Italian position that military force cannot end the civil war in Libya.
"Now, more than ever, Europe must intervene to find a political solution to the conflict," the statement ended.
During a special sitting of the Turkish parliament, MPs voted 325-184 in favour of the troop deployment, raising fears that the threat of Turkish intervention as well as that by other regional competitors could intensify the violence in Libya.
Turkey has accused Russia of sending private mercenaries to back eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar, whose forces have been battling the UN-backed Government of National Accord since April for control of Tripoli.
