Turkish Ship Seized by Libya's East-Based Forces Released

Libya's east-based forces said Monday they released a ship with Turkish crew members captured over the weekend in the midst of heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean over a disputed maritime border deal between Tripoli and Ankara.

Ahmed al-Mosmari, a spokesman for the Libyan National Army, said they didn't find any weapons on the vessel flying a Grenada flag carrying a shipment of flour from Malta to Alexandria's Egyptian coastal city.

The ship was confiscated "because, without prior permission, it entered the territorial waters of Libya," the spokesman said.

On Saturday, the LNA, under commander Khalifa Hafter, captured the vessel and took it to a Libyan port under its inspection jurisdiction.

The capture of the vessel came in the midst of tensions between the LNA and Turkey, supporting the UN-supported government based in Tripoli's country capital.

Hafter's forces have been leading an offensive against the UN-supported government since April, attempting to capture Tripoli from the security militias.

Last month, Turkey and the government of Tripoli signed maritime and security agreements, attracting international outrage and concern from several Mediterranean countries.

The security agreement, which was approved on Saturday by the Turkish Parliament, requires Ankara to provide military training and equipment at the request of Tripoli.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that if the government of Tripoli formally called for their deployment, Turkey could send troops to Libya.