Nigeria, Jan. 3 -- The Turkish legislature has approved a proposal to send troops to Libya, amid concerns the conflict in the troubled African nation could escalate insecurity in the Sahel region, which includes Nigeria's extreme north.

The approval on Thursday followed the declaration, last December, by President Recep Erdogan to intervene in the Libyan conflict in support of the United Nations-backed Government of National Accord based in Tripoli.

The development further internationalises the armed conflict in Libya, which has been torn by civil war since a NATO-led invasion led to the fall and killing of Muammar Gaddafi.

Already, Russia, Egypt, Jordan and UAE are backing the forces of Khalifa Haftar, a former late Gaddafi's ally, wh...