On Tuesday, Libyan port authorities at Al-Khoms
holding a large cache of weapons and ammunition that were delivered by the container ship
BF ESPERANZA en route from Turkey. The illicit flow of Turkish weapons and ammunition – in defiance of a
– reinforces longstanding concerns over Ankara’s
that worsen Libya’s instability.
According to a Libyan media
, the two intercepted containers held various
of pistols and rifles and around 4.8 million rounds of ammunition manufactured by two Turkish companies,
and
. Illicit transfers of Turkish weapons and ammunition have been a recurring problem. In December 2013, Egyptian customs officials
intercepted four containers of weapons from Turkey. In September 2015, Greek authorities
the freighter
Haddad 1 carrying an undeclared shipment of weapons en route from Turkey to Libya. Greek coastguard also
in January 2018 a Tanzanian-flagged Andromeda ship carrying explosive materials, reportedly loaded in the Turkish ports of Mersin and Iskenderum,
on its way to the port of Misratah.
In Libya, the confiscation of the latest Turkish shipment trigged
. The Libyan National Army (LNA)
the UN to open an immediate investigation into the incident,
Turkey for undermining Libya’s security and stability. Soon after, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya
the shipment for violating the UN arms embargo, saying the UN Panel of Experts on Libya should investigate the incident. Shortly after the UN statement, the internationally recognized Government of National Accord
a thorough investigation.
A September 2018
from the UN Panel of Experts found that Turkey was one of the countries involved in shipping arms to Libya’s rival factions in violation of the
. The report said that the EU military operation, dubbed Operation Sophia, inspected the vessel
El-Mukhtar twice in 2017 and seized numerous weapons, ammunition, and associated materiel produced by Turkish manufacturer Kapeks Ltd. The intended recipients of the seized materiel were Islamist fighters in Benghazi. Further, a 2016 Panel of Experts
disclosed the seizure from the
Haddad 1 of two containers with 5,000 shotguns and 500,000 rounds of ammunition produced by two Turkish companies,
and
. The report also documented the presence of Torun Arms shotguns and Yavaşçalar ammunition in seizures of arms leaving Libya.
These findings clearly demonstrate that Turkey is pursuing a
in Libya. Ankara’s failure to align with UN efforts to promote stability has exposed it as a spoiler that fuels divisions and armed clashes among Libyans. To address Ankara’s destabilizing role, Washington should work closely with the UN to facilitate strict implementation of the arms embargo and prevent Libya from becoming a key
for illicit arms sales and transfers to neighboring countries and Europe.