Turkey slams detaining of cargo ship by Haftar's forces

Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Dec. 8 condemned the detaining of a Turkish ship transporting medicine to Libya's port of Misrata by forces loyal to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar. 

Haftar's forces detained the vessel and its 17 crew members, including nine Turkish citizens, earlier in the day, claiming they did not comply with instructions. The vessel was also fined.

The Foreign Ministry statement condemned this practice and said steps should immediately be taken to enable the ship to resume its planned voyage.

It said Haftar and his militias have maintained their aggressive stance even in a period when the political process between Turkey and the Libyan people is being advanced under the leadership of the U.N. in Libya.

The statement stressed that if Turkish interests are targeted in Libya, there would be serious consequences and that these elements would be considered legitimate targets.

Ahmed al-Mismari, Haftar's spokesman, said on his social media account that the Jamaican-flagged commercial cargo ship Mebruka, whose owner is stated to be a Turk, was caught by Haftar's militia. The militia claims the ship entered a prohibited area and did not respond to calls and withdrew to the port of Ras al-Hilal.

Al-Mismari added that the ship was "investigated and inspected because it violated maritime rules and laws."

He also told the Al-Hadath television channel that the ship was loaded with drugs to be taken to Misrata but entered the forbidden area.

Claiming they made a call to the ship but did not receive a response, Mismari said: "We approached the ship with boats and boarded it"

The captain did not follow the procedures and the ship entered the prohibited area without permission, he said, adding there were...

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