An investigation by the BBC’s Africa Eye uncovers Turkish violations of the arms embargo on Libya imposed by the UN Security Council.
According to the BBC, Turkey committed “the most flagrant violation of the arms embargo on Libya to date” just days after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey attended the Berlin Conference where he pledged to assist international efforts to put an end to the conflict in Libya.
Turkish arms were shipped to Libya on a vessel called the ‘Bana’, which set sail from Turkey on January 24, 2020. On January 27, as the Bana approached Libya’s coastline, the ship’s transponder went off.
According to one of the sailors on board, the Bana’s stated destination was Gabes in Tunisia.
Satellite images from January 28 show three tiny specks, still identifiable as vessels, just off the coast of Libya.
One of the vessels matched the shape, size and colour scheme of the Bana. The other two vessels were identified as G-class frigates, which are used exclusively by Turkey’s navy.
Subsequent footage from Libya also showed the Bana docked at Tripoli’s port carrying a cargo of weapons, military vehicles and heavy artillery. The BBC’s Africa Eye was able to confirm that these videos were taken inside the Bana’s hull.
After leaving Tripoli, the Bana docked in the Italian port of Genoa where authorities had been expecting its arrival.
According to police records, the ship’s crew testified that the ship had loaded weapons, tanks and explosives in the port city of Mersin, in southern Turkey, before transporting the arms to the Libyan capital, Tripoli. 10 Turkish soldiers were allegedly on board to escort the ship’s cargo.
Turkey, which supports the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), had previously made international headlines for violating the arms embargo on Libya when images of a shipment of Turkish armoured vehicles being unloaded in the port of Tripoli emerged online.
The shipment was cause for concern by the international community as the military vehicles ended up in the hands of Salah Badi, a UN-sanctioned militia leader in Libya.