Türkiye Again Refuses Inspection of One of its Ships Heading to Libya

IRINI said Türkiye on Sunday rejected a request to inspect the ship “MV MATILDE A”. (MarineTraffic)
IRINI said Türkiye on Sunday rejected a request to inspect the ship “MV MATILDE A”. (MarineTraffic)
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Türkiye Again Refuses Inspection of One of its Ships Heading to Libya

IRINI said Türkiye on Sunday rejected a request to inspect the ship “MV MATILDE A”. (MarineTraffic)
IRINI said Türkiye on Sunday rejected a request to inspect the ship “MV MATILDE A”. (MarineTraffic)

Türkiye again refused to allow the European Maritime Operation IRINI team to inspect one of its ships heading to Libya.

“Türkiye on Sunday again rejected a request to inspect the ship MV MATILDE A in accordance with Security Council Resolution No. 2292/2016 on the arms embargo on Libya,” IRINI wrote on its official X account.

The operation was launched on March 31, 2020 following the first Berlin Conference on Libya. It was mandated by the European Council to carry out as its core task the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Libya in resolution 2292 of 2016 and resolution 2526 of 2020, which are binding for all EU Member States, including Türkiye.

This is the 12th time that Ankara has prevented an IRINI team from boarding a merchant ship. Türkiye blames IRINI of besieging the interim Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli.

The operation had shared dozens of special reports with the UN Panel of Experts on Libya. Most of these reports referred to violations or possible violations of the arms embargo and oil smuggling activities in the west and in the east of the country.

Since the launch of the maritime mission, Türkiye has rejected operation IRINI, describing it as biased and of working for the benefit of the Sudanese Army.

On several occasions, Ankara has clashed with IRINI teams because of their insistence to inspect Turkish ships heading to Libya on suspicion that they were carrying weapons to the former Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj and then the current GNU, headed by Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah.

Since the beginning of operation, IRINI has examined more than 1,000 suspected ships through information via radio calls. It also carried more than 500 visits with the captain’s approval to more than 500 merchant ships and inspected several suspicious flights.

The operation aims to counter illicit arms trafficking, supporting the implementation of the arms embargo on Libya based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to gather intelligence on oil smuggling, in particular its impact on the Libyan economy and its possible use to finance the arms market; to contribute to the disruption of the business model of migrant smuggling by gathering intelligence by air and sharing it with Frontex and relevant national authorities; to support the development of the search and rescue capacity of relevant Libyan institutions through training.

Türkiye has sent thousands of its troops and thousands of mercenaries from pro-Turkish armed factions in Syria, to fight alongside forces in western Libya.

To this day, Ankara maintains thousands of members of its armed forces in Libya, along with about 7,000 Syrian mercenaries from the so-called “Syrian National Army.”

Despite international demands to withdraw mercenaries and foreign forces, Türkiye says its military presence in Libya is “legitimate and its forces should not be viewed as foreign forces.”

United Nations reports had previously accused SADAT, a Turkish defense consultancy, of violating an international arms embargo by deploying thousands of Syrian fighters to Libya.

The company has denied the allegations.



Israel’s Army Says It Will Fire Air Force Reservists Who Condemned Gaza War

An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
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Israel’s Army Says It Will Fire Air Force Reservists Who Condemned Gaza War

An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)

Israel's military said Friday it will fire air force reservists who signed an open letter that condemns the war in Gaza for only serving political interests instead of bringing the hostages home.

In a statement to The Associated Press, an army official said there was no room for any individual, including reservists on active duty, “to exploit their military status while simultaneously participating in the fighting,” calling the letter a breach of trust between commanders and subordinates.

The army said it had decided that any active reservist who signed the letter will not be able to continue serving. It did not specify how many people that included or if the firings had begun.

Nearly 1,000 Israeli Air Force reservists and retirees signed the letter, published in Israeli media Thursday, demanding the immediate return of the hostages, even at the cost of ending the fighting.

The letter comes as Israel ramps up its offensive in Gaza, trying to pressure Hamas to agree to free hostages, 59 of whom are still being held, more than half of which are dead. Israel's imposed a blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle. It has pledged to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor through it.

While the soldiers who signed the letter didn’t refuse to keep serving, it’s part of a growing number of Israeli soldiers speaking out against the 18-month conflict, some saying they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines.

“It’s completely illogical and irresponsible on behalf of the Israeli policy makers ... risking the lives of the hostages, risking the lives of more soldiers and risking lives of many, many more innocent Palestinians, while it had a very clear alternative,” Guy Poran, a retired Israeli Air Force pilot who spearhead the letter told The AP.

He said he's not aware of anyone who signed the letter being fired, and since it was published, it has gained dozens more signatures.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the letter on Friday, saying it was written by a “small handful of weeds, operated by foreign-funded NGOs whose sole goal is to overthrow the right-wing government.” He said anyone who encourages refusal will be immediately dismissed.

Soldiers are required to steer clear of politics, and they rarely speak out against the army. After Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel quickly united behind the war launched against the group. Divisions here have grown as the war progresses, but most criticism has focused on the mounting number of soldiers killed and the failure to bring home hostages, not actions in Gaza.

The war in Gaza shows no signs of slowing.

Since Israel ended an eight-week ceasefire last month, it said it will push further into Gaza until Hamas releases the hostages. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed, according to the United Nations.

The Israeli military on Friday issued an urgent warning to residents in several neighborhoods in northern Gaza, calling on them to evacuate immediately. At least 26 people have been killed and more than 100 others wounded in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Palestinians lined up at a charity kitchen Friday in central Gaza said shortages of food, fuel and other essentials are worsening.

“There is no flour or gas or wood. Everything is expensive and there is no money," said Reem Oweis, a displaced woman from al-Mughraqa in south Gaza, waiting in line for a serving of rice, the only food available.

“I completely rely on charity kitchens. If those charity kitchens close, my children and I will die,” said another displace woman, Nema Faragallah.

Also this week, Brazil's Embassy in the West Bank said it had requested the immediate release of the body of a 17-year-old Palestinian prisoner who died in Israeli custody.

A representative from Brazil's office in Ramallah, told the AP it was helping the family speed up the process to bring Walid Ahmad's body home. Ahmad had a Brazilian passport.

According to an Israeli doctor who observed the autopsy, starvation was likely the primary cause of his death.

Ahmad had been held for six months without being charged. He was extremely malnourished and also showed signs of inflammation of the colon and scabies, said a report written by Dr. Daniel Solomon, who watched the autopsy, conducted by Israeli experts, at the request of the boy’s family.

Israel’s prison service said it operates according to the law and all prisoners are given basic rights.