IRINI Mission Tracks Turkish Ship off the Libyan Coast

As part of the new EUNAVFOR MED “IRINI” operation, a Fairchild Dornier SA-227D aircraft has tracked on Monday a Turkish ship off the Libyan coast, according to press sources.

The aircraft flew again off eastern Libya, the track indicates that the aircraft orbited Turkish cargo “Parpali” left from Turkey and underway to western Libya.

The main goal of the IRINI operation is to support the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Libya. It does so by using maritime, aerial and satellite assets to monitor shipments of arms and other illicit activities in the Mediterranean.

Alongside its main objective, the operation has a series of secondary tasks. It will provide monitoring and surveillance to prevent illegal oil exports from Libya, in addition to capacity building and training for the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy to support the fight against human trafficking networks.

It is noteworthy that the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Italy and the EU’s top diplomat made a joint call on Saturday for a humanitarian truce in Libya, saying all sides must resume peace talks.

In a joint statement, the three ministers said that they united their voices to those of UN Secretary-General (Antonio) Guterres and his Acting Special Representative for Libya, Stephanie Turco Williams, in their call for a humanitarian truce in Libya.

“We call on all the Libyan actors to get inspired by the spirit of the Holy Ramadan, engage in resuming talks for a genuine ceasefire,” said the statement, signed by the EU’s Josep Borrell, France’s Jean-Yves Le Drian, Italy’s Luigi di Maio and Heiko Maas of Germany.