Haftar forces detain Turkey cargo ship transporting medical supplies

A Turkish cargo ship has been detained by the forces of Libyan renegade General Khalifa Haftar today over an alleged “violation” of maritime laws.

The Jamaican-flagged commercial ship Mebruka, which was transporting medicine and medical supplies to the Western Libyan port of Misrata, was halted and boarded by Haftar’s forces early this morning.

According to Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari, the ship was “investigated and inspected because it violated maritime rules and laws” by entering a prohibited area.

When LNA forces made a call to the ship, it apparently did not respond, but instead withdrew to the port of Ras Al-Hilal. “We approached the ship with boats and boarded it,” Al-Mismari said.

They then detained the vessel and the 17 crew members on board for not complying with orders, including nine Turkish citizens amongst them. The owner of the cargo ship is also reportedly Turkish.

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He told the Arabic-language television channel Al-Hadath that the ship was transporting drugs to Misrata before it entered the ‘forbidden’ waters.

According to the Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency, the crew members arrested are said to be in good condition.

Due to Turkey’s alliance with and assistance to the UN-recognised Libyan Government of National Accord (LNA) based in the western capital Tripoli, Turkish ships regularly conduct passages to the government-held territory in order to transport aid and medical supplies. They have also been reported to have transported arms, however, which has ignited suspicion.

It is not only Haftar who has taken action against Turkish ships, German forces boarded and inspected a Turkish vessel last month in an apparent attempt to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya.

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