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Turkey has forced an end to a Bundeswehr mission to control the UN arms embargo against Libya. The soldiers wanted to examine a Turkish freighter.
By Kai Küstner, ARD capital studio
Turkey has stopped the investigation of a Turkish freighter in the Mediterranean by the German armed forces. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the operational command. ARD capital studyafter the “Spiegel” first reported about it. The fact that NATO partner Turkey refuses to search one of its ships for German soldiers is politically highly explosive.
Consequently, the EU mission in Rome ordered the Bundeswehr frigate “Hamburg” yesterday afternoon to inspect a suspected Turkish freighter 200 kilometers from the Libyan city of Benghazi. The German frigate is part of the EU Mediterranean mission IRINI, which, among other things, aims to implement a United Nations arms embargo against Libya.
“The ship was suspected of violating the arms embargo on Libya,” Christian Thiels, spokesman for Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, confirmed the incident. The German soldiers boarded the Turkish ship and began the search. However, a little later, the Turkish government withdrew its consent to the operation. ”The crew was completely cooperative and opened up all possibilities. However, Turkey later stated that it did not agree to this ‘shipment’, ”Thiels said.
Bundeswehr to enforce the arms embargo
The Bundeswehr had to interrupt the search and bring its soldiers back to the frigate “Hamburg” by helicopter at dawn. A spokesman for the operational command confirmed this course of events ARD capital study.
The German soldiers had found nothing until the time of the demolition. But the fact that Turkey, a NATO partner state, refuses to register a cargo ship looking for the Germans, highlights the confusing situation in the Libyan conflict.
“We take the incident very seriously, of course,” says Andrea Sasse, spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office. “In relation to the Berlin-Libya Conference, we made it clear several times that we expect all participants to adhere to the arms embargo. This, of course, also applies to Turkey.”
Turkey supports the Libyan government
Despite Libya’s conference in Berlin earlier this year, despite the UN arms embargo and despite the EU naval mission IRINI, a large amount of military equipment has recently entered the country.
Turkey supports the internationally recognized government in Tripoli in the conflict. Russia and the United Arab Emirates had sided with the renegade General Haftar.
There is a ray of hope: in October, the parties to the conflict agreed to a ceasefire. According to government spokesman Steffen Seibert, there should now be a timetable for the elections in December 2021. “We see this as an important step. To restore Libya’s sovereignty,” Seibert said.
Left Party Demands Cessation of Arms Exports
At the same time, given the recent incident in the Mediterranean, the question arises as to how assertive the EU naval mission really is. According to the Operations Command of the Bundeswehr, it is fundamentally possible to register ships against the will of other states. In the case of the Turkish freighter, however, the EU headquarters issued instructions from Rome to stop the search.
Since August, Germany has participated in the EU IRINI operation to control the embargo on Libya with the frigate “Hamburg”. In addition to weapons, the use is also intended to prevent oil and fuel smuggling. Civil war has raged in Libya since the overthrow of long-term ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011.
