Troops of the Libyan National Army (LNA) have intercepted a Turkish freighter off the coast of Libya. The ship, flying the Jamaican flag, was bound for the port city of Misrata, east of the capital, Tripoli.
There were 17 crew members on board the Mabrouka, including nine Turks. This is reported by a spokesman for the LNA, headed by General Khalifa Haftar. The ship has been towed to the port of Ras al-Helal. There it is investigated whether rules have been broken.
Turkey, along with Qatar, supports the internationally recognized government of Libya. That government has been fighting for years against the LNA, which has the support of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Tensions between Berlin and Ankara
Last month, a Turkish ship suspected to transport weapons for Libya. A German helicopter came on board to check the ship. This led to tensions between Germany and Turkey. In response to the incident, Turkey called on ambassadors from the EU, Germany and Italy for “illegal searches on a Turkish ship bound for Libya”.
Since the fall of General Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been ravaged by chaos and war. Foreign aid has not helped resolve the conflicts. In October, the belligerent parties signed with Haftar on one side and the UN-recognized government on the other a truce.
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