Turkish warships spotted near Libyan cost

In a statement, the Director of Moral Guidance in the Libyan National Army (LNA), Major General Khaled Al-Mahjoub, said LNA was monitoring the movement of Turkish warships in the Gulf of Sirte.

He stated that the Turkish warships were currently outside Libyan territorial waters and was no evidence yet showing they were approaching the Oil Crescent. He said LNA and its navy are ready to deal with any emergency.

Since the standoff between Operation IRINI’s German frigate and a Turkish cargo vessel off the coast of Libya, which led to diplomatic pressure being exerted by Turkey against the EU, Libyan media revealed that Turkish warships had been detected near the Gulf of Sirte. Satellites had spotted 6 naval frigates carrying the Turkish flag off the coast of Libya, at the Sirte Oil Crescent.

Turkish naval movements coincide with its deployments in Libya, specially during the last few days. Yesterday, for example, there were almost 6 military cargo flights from Turkish air bases to al-Watiya air base.

It is noteworthy that the Gulf of Sirte and the contact areas in the Sirte Al-Jufra line, which represent the dividing line with the militias, are under the monitoring and control of the Libyan army.