Turbulence for Turkey as breakaway parties make gains on Erdoğan

Turkey is gearing up for another turbulent year in both domestic politics and on the world stage as its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, deploys troops to Libya while fighting off new breakaway parties at home. In an emergency session over the new year break, the Turkish parliament passed a bill authorising the deployment of troops to support Libya’s embattled UN-recognised government, a significant flex of Ankara’s diplomatic and military muscle which risks a major escalation in the complex nine-year-old conflict. So far, just 35 soldiers have been sent in an advisory capacity to Tripoli, Erdoğan said on Sunday. But the Guardian understands as many as 300 Syrian fighters on Turkey’s payroll...