CAIRO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday warned against the "negative effect" of Turkey's announcement of sending troops to Libya on the imminent Berlin conference on Libya.

Shoukry's remarks came during two phone calls he made with his Greek and Italian counterparts, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Egyptian foreign minister stressed that the Turkish announcement shows "intention to violate relevant UN Security Council's resolutions."

Earlier on Thursday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that his country was starting to send troops to Libya in support of the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Serraj.

Egypt has repeatedly condemned Turkey's plan to send troops to Libya saying it is an intervention in Libya's domestic affairs.

Egypt backs Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar who seeks to take over Tripoli.

Libya has been suffering a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The Libyan conflict escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments, the Tripoli-based GNA and a Tobruk-based government allied with the LNA.

Slated for Jan. 19, Berlin international conference on Libya seeks to put an end to the North African country's nine-year conflict. Enditem

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