The Turkish parliament will in January vote on a motion to send troops to Libya to support the UN-backed government in Tripoli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.

President Erdogan says Ankara will send troops to Libya now that Tripoli has requested it, and he will present legislation to parliament in January for deployment to the north African country.

Turkey will soon be stepping in with military troops to support Libya after the UN-backed government in Tripoli asked for backing as it fends off eastern rival forces. CGTN's Michal Bardavid explains why Ankara is making such a move and lays out the challenges ahead.

A protest in Turkey by people calling for the return of their children and relatives from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has entered its fourth month. Stationed outside the headquarters of the Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, in Diyarbakir province, the protesters claim the party has been forcibly recruiting or luring their children and relatives to fight for the outlawed group.

Uluc Ozulker, Former Turkish Ambassador to Libya discusses Turkey-Tunisia relations, will Tunisia play mediator of sorts in the Libya conflict, given its arguable neutrality?

A boat carrying migrants and refugees sank in eastern Turkey, Thursday, December 26. Seven migrants were killed after the boat capsized and sank as it was nearing the shore in Lake Van in Turkey near the border with Iran.

Turkey is considering all kinds of military backing for Libya. That includes ground, marine and air support, if necessary. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said he's ready to deploy troops, if the the internationally recognised government of Libya formally requests help. The Government of National Accord, or GNA, has been fighting an offensive by rebel forces to unseat Prime Minister Fayez Al Serraj since April. Warlord Khalifa Haftar announced his final push to seize the capital Tripoli earlier this month. His forces extended to Wednesday a deadline for pro-goverment forces to withdraw. But will Ankara's move intensify the conflict, or hasten its end?

Over the past year, the dispute over oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean has escalated. Turkey has expanded its fleet of ships exploring near Cyprus, while Greek Cypriots have been trying to rally support for their exploration rights.

Pakistan's Imran Khan and President Erdogan Arrive at the Global Refugee Forum. Khan had addressed the first Global Refugee Forum as a co-convener in Geneva, saying "I want to tell the whole world that they should be aware of the biggest impending refugee crisis [in South Asia]." Elaborating his viewpoint, he said that since August 5, more than 8 million Kashmiris have been under siege because of the lockdown by India. He warned that a humanitarian crisis will follow once the siege ends.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey cannot handle another wave of migrants from Syria as the Syrian regime and Russia continue to bombard Idlib, prompting tens of thousands of Syrians to flee their homes.

At least eight people have been killed after Syrian government airstrikes targeted a school in the town of Jobas in Idlib province. Tens of thousands of civilians have been fleeing towards the Turkish border to escape the escalation in violence.

Turkey's President Erdogan: We Will Not Take More Refugees. Syria's recent offensive in the Idlib province triggers a new deluge of refugees, which President Erdogan states that Turkey cannot take anymore than the current 3.5 million refugees, the highest number of refugees in the world.

Syrian government forces, backed by Russia and other allies, are pushing to retake the Idlib region, which is the last major bit of rebel-held territory in the Syrian Civil War and home to three million people. Tens of thousands are fleeing the violence and heading toward Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fears they could eventually enter Turkey, which is already home to nearly 3.7 million Syrians, the largest refugee population in the world. Erdogan has warned there will be consequences for Europe if that happens.

Turkey has pledged to increase its military assistance to the UN-recognised government of the North African state. Ankara's involvement comes as Libya's General Khalifa Haftar, the head of a rival administration, closes in on the capital, Tripoli, and as Haftar's Libyan National Army controls most of the strategic oil fields, it is no surprise that different countries rushed to strike oil deals amid his Tripoli offensive. MORE: https://on.rt.com/a7r7 Subscribe to RT! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpwvZwUam-URkxB7g4USKpg?sub_confirmation=1 RT LIVE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFAcqaNzNSc Check out http://rt.com Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on VK https://vk.com/rt_international Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/RT_com Follow us on Instagram http://instagram.com/rt Follow us on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/rttv #RT (Russia Today) is a global #news network broadcasting from Moscow, London, Paris and Washington studios to over 100 countries. RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.

The United Nations has joined Turkey in condemning a Saudi court's decision to sentence five people to death over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. No senior Saudi figures were implicated by the judge in the closed-door trials, despite a UN investigation and a CIA report pointing the finger at Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Yasmine El-Sabawi has more from Washington.

Syrian government forces and their Russian allies are pushing deeper into the last rebel stronghold of Idlib, killing dozens of civilians in the process. Their actions have left the August ceasefire between Syrian opposition fighters and Russian-backed government forces in tatters.

Tensions escalate between the US and Turkey following the US Senate recognizing an inconclusive Armenian resolution. In response, Ankara threatens to revoke access to the US Air Base in Incirlik if Washington follows through with threats of sanctions.

16-23 December 2019