Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Libya.. German's Hamburg Heads to Mediterranean Within 'IRINI"


Tue 04 Aug 2020 | 06:30 PM
Yassmine Elsayed

This morning, the German frigate "Hamburg" headed to the Mediterranean with about 250 soldiers on board to participate in the European "IRINI" mission to monitor the decision to ban arm exports to Libya. The frigate is expected to arrive within ten days and to stay there until December 20.

Last April, the European Union has initiated the mission with the aim of supporting the arms embargo imposed on the war-torn country and as a major contribution to international efforts aiming at bringing the warring parties on the negotiation table.

In May, the German parliament granted the army a mandate to participate in the mission.

In addition to the transfer of weapons and military equipment between Ankara and Al-Wefaq government led by Fayez Al-Sarraj, the US Department of Defense estimated the number of Syrian mercenaries sent by Turkey to Tripoli, from January to March this year, at about 3500 and 3800, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Turkey used more than 16 thousand fighters of different nationalities.

Mean while, Al Arabiya television quoted sources saying that a fire broke out in the passenger terminal at the Libyan Misrata Airport, western, while authorities at the Libyan Ministry of transportation explained that flights from Misrata Airport will be suspended and resumed from Maitika airport, in Tripoli, due to the blaze.

Speculation of deliberate fire were put forward that the people of Misrata were deliberately involved because of their anger at the use of airport in the movement of Turkish and mercenary travelers to and from Misrata, amid a record increase of coronavirus in the city and fears that those travelers could be already brining in the virus to the city.

On the other hand, Libyan media reported today that Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerrini will visit Libya tomorrow. Earlier, Al-Wefaq government had prevented an Italian military delegation from visiting Misrata, an incident which Italian newspapers considered "an insult to the country."