The Defense and National Security Committee of House of Representatives denounced Sunday the alleged support of Turkey and Qatar for terrorism in Libya and the “silence” of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) toward the violations of the international arms embargo.
The statement referred to a shipment of 40 armored vehicles and other weapons arrived from Turkey in Tripoli port Saturday.
This is not the first time weapons and military equipment have been sent from Turkey to Libyan ports. In December and January, Libyan officials managed to seize two shipments of weapons and ammunition coming from Turkey at the port of Misurata and Khoms.
Meanwhile, the Committee condemned “the unlimited support of Qatar and Turkey for the gangs of IS and al-Qaeda in Tripoli,” calling upon the UNSMIL to stop the “blatant interference” of Turkey and Qatar in Libyan affairs.
On Wednesday, speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh, who supports the Libyan National Army (LNA), said a date for the end of the military operation in Tripoli cannot be determined as some countries provide terrorist groups with weapons and ammunition during the war.
Libyan officials have accused Qatar and Turkey of supporting and funding “terrorist groups” in Libya, who in turn allegedly defend the GNA against the LNA.
“Regardless of [GNA Prime Minister Faiez] al-Sarraj’s visits abroad, what was hidden from a number of states before has become obvious now: terrorists control the capital, loot public funds, bribe, and pay for mercenaries and criminals in the interests of the government, which the Libyan people have rejected through their elected representatives,” Saleh said.
