In an interview, the LNA Navy commander Maj. Gen Faraj al-Mahdawi revealed that the agreement is aimed at countering Turkish smuggling and drilling ships.
“There is great coordination between Libya and Greece in order to monitor the movement of Turkish ships,” the UAE-based al-Ain TV quoted Maj. Gen al-Mahdawi as saying.
According to the commander, the Hellenic Navy will seize any Turkish ship that would violate Greece’s waters, while the Libyan Navy will sink Turkish vessels that would attempt to drill in Libya’s waters, or smuggle weapons to the country’s western shores.
Last week, the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) reached a controversial maritime agreement with Turkey. The agreement allows Turkish vessels to move and drill in eastern Mediterranean with much freedom.
The Libyan National Army (LNA) announced on December 13 that it had destroyed a large shipment of weapons, that was recently supplied by Turkey to forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the Libyan coastal city of Misrata.
In an official statement, the army revealed that it received credible information saying that large quantities of weapons, ammunitions, armored vehicles and other military equipment were shipped to Misrata’s naval and aerial ports.
Turkey supplied these weapons and equipment to Misrata’s forces as a part of its recent maritime agreement with the GNA, according to the LNA.
The weapons shipments as well as Turkish-made drones, which were stored in Misrata’s Air Academy and other parts of the city, were targeted by the Libyan Air Force (LAF).
“The shipments’ storage areas were targeted and destroyed with high accuracy and success, as a result of the strikes, successive explosions occurred and a fire erupted in the Turkish drones’ hangar… Our warplanes safely returned to their bases,” the LNA’s statement reads.
Header: Members of the Self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) special forces attend a graduation ceremony in Benghazi on December 31, 2018 [ABDULLAH DOMA/AFP/Getty Images]