Turkey’s Parliament extends troops deployment abroad

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The General Assembly of the Parliament of Turkey has ratified two motions to extend the deployment of the country's troops in Lebanon, Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR) for another year.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkey's parliament ratified a motion on Tuesday (October 6) to extend the deployment of Turkey's troops in Lebanon for another year as part of the United Nations' (UN) interim force in the country.

The government motion was passed by the MPs of the ruling Justice and Development (AKP), main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), AKP's ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and İYİ Party.

The term of Turkey's soldiers in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, also known as UNIFIL, will be extended until October 30, 2021.

The motion has been extended 13 times so far since it was first approved by parliament in September 2006.

UNIFIL was established in 1978 when Israel withdrew from Lebanon. The peacekeeping force is intended to provide security and help the Lebanese government in rebuilding its authority. Around 10,600 troops from 40 countries are part of the UNIFIL mission.

Motion on Mali and Central African Republic

Parliament also approved another motion on Tuesday, extending the deployment of Turkey's troops to Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR) as part of a UN-approved EU peacekeeping mission. The extensions will be effective as of October 31 for another year.

The AKP, the CHP, the MHP and the İYİ Party backed the motion. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) voted against it.

In September 2014, the 12,000-troop UN peacekeeping force the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) began deployment in the country.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in 2012 that authorized the deployment of the African-led International Support Mission to Mali, known as AFISMA. In early 2013, France sent troops to the West African country and, with the help of Chadian and other African forces, flushed out militants from the country's key northern cities.

Today, parliament is also set to debate a motion to allow the military to carry out cross-border operations in northern Iraq and Syria for another year, from October 30, 2020 to October 30, 2021. (TP/SD)