Pro-Haftar assembly resolution on Turkey null and void, Libyan official says

The resolutions passed by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives are null and void, Libya's High Council of State President Khaled al-Mishri said Saturday in a local TV broadcast.

Al-Mishri's statement came in response to the assembly body, which is in support of Gen. Khalifa Haftar and said that it cut all ties with Turkey after Ankara approved the mandate to send troops to Libya.

"The resolutions passed by the Tobruk House of Representatives on support for forces attacking Tripoli have no worth," al-Mishri said.

Meanwhile, legal expert Mahmoud Ismail noted that the way the legislative body gathered was not lawful as only 38 lawmakers out of 162 participated and the meeting took place in Benghazi rather than Tobruk.

Turkey has been backing the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Serraj as it fights off a months-long offensive by Haftar's forces.

The Turkish Parliament approved the mandate to send troops to Libya on Jan. 2 in favor of the conflicted country's U.N.-backed GNA upon a formal request for military support from Turkey.

Since the ousting and death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya. Turkey and Qatar, as well as Italy, have been allied with Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj's government based in Tripoli, while Haftar, who commands forces based in eastern Libya, is backed by France, Russia and key Arab countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.