US-based Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) website, which is part of the Atlantic Council for Research and Studies and is specialized in catalyzing a global network of digital forensic researchers, following conflicts in real time, has published a detailed report revealing the reality behind the Turkish military vehicles’ shipment that arrived in Tripoli on May 19, in violation of the UN arms embargo on the country.
The DFRLab said a cargo-load of Turkish-made BMC Kipri Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles were recorded in Tripoli, Libya, on May 18, 2019, adding that even though Libya has been under a United Nations arms embargo since 2011, foreign sources still funnel arms to both sides of the conflict in the country.
The American website added that Turkey had sent arms and military vehicles to the forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA), while the other side of the conflict, led by Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has received support from other foreign countries, hence; these shipments increase the risk of further escalating what is already, to a large extent, a proxy conflict in Libya between foreign actors.
“The reports about the new shipments started appearing on various media outlets as early as May 19, 2019, yet did not provide solid open-source proof. The videos and images that surfaced on social media outlets, corroborated with other open-source data, allowed the DFRLab to confirm that this shipment actually took place.” DFRLab has indicated.
The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, publicly expressed on April 27, 2019, support for the GNA in a conference held in the Turkish capital of Ankara, stating in his statement that the GNA is legitimized by people and that Turkey will do everything in its power to help Libya.
Thus, weeks later, Turkey appeared to have made good on its promise, as on May 18, photos and videos surfaced of what appeared to be state-of-the-art Turkish military equipment at the Tripoli docks.
DFRLab said most of the photos showed armored fighting vehicles, which appeared upon closer examination to be Turkish-made BMC Kipri MRAP vehicles that Turkey introduced at the 2018 Eurosatory Defence & International Exhibition.
“Searching the IMO identifier 7702657 in the ship-traffic website Vessel Finder, along with the name of the ship, returned a matching result for the “Amazon,” a Moldova-registered Ro‑Ro Cargo ship. The information on the ship tracking website also confirmed that the ship was present near the Libyan shore at the time. The data from May 21 showed that the ship had already left Libya but was still relatively close to the shores of the country, likely heading to the port of Samsun in Turkey.” DFRLab explained.
It further added that this information was also cross-checked with both geolocation data and daily satellite imagery, all of which corroborated the May 19 news media reports, saying that in one of the photos, a water tower close to the cargo ship allowed for further geolocation and the cargo ship was docked in the northern section of Tripoli’s Port, which appeared to be the primary cargo area for incoming goods.
DFRLab indicated that the photos showing the unloaded MRAPs also confirmed the location, adding that the vehicles were parked in a straight line only a few meters from the location where the ship was docked.
“High resolution satellite imagery allowed the DFRLab to identify the metal poles visible in the photos, together with another cargo ship. The same poles were visible in a selfie that Libyan soldiers took upon the delivery of the vehicles as well.” It explained.
The website also said that satellite imagery from May 19, a day after the ship reportedly arrived at the port, further confirmed the location.
“Despite the low resolution, a close up of the imagery showed that distinguishing features of the ship matched the images available on VesselFinder of the Amazon.” It explained.
DFRLab said that triangulating open-source geolocation evidence, ship traffic data, and daily satellite imagery allowed them to confirm reports of a Turkish weapons shipment to Tripoli, indicating that both sides of the conflict in Libya have reportedly received arms from foreign actors, despite a UN-imposed arms embargo.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government has previously vowed to prevent Libya from turning into another Syria, sending a message to the world that it has become a chief ally of the GNA.
“As both sides of the conflict benefit from foreign support, Libya is increasingly the region’s latest proxy war hotspot.” DFRLab concluded.
