A Turkish merchant boat was attacked last Sunday several miles off the Libyan coast by the armed forces of the internationally recognized Libyan government. The Turkish merchant boat Tuna-1 came initially under artillery fire and later was attacked by airplanes.
According to the internationally recognized Libyan government based in the coastal city of Tobruk, the Turkish vessel was sailing 10 miles from the coast of eastern Libya and it was told not to approach the city of Derna, which is under the control of the terrorist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since last Autumn.
According to the Libyan authorities the Turkish ship did not obey to the order and continued its trip towards the city of Derna, resulting in the Libyan Armed Forces using force against it. The incident took place on Sunday night and one member of the crew was killed, while several were injured.
In contrast, the Turkish Foreign Ministry made a statement on Monday saying the vessel was shelled while it was located in the international waters 13 miles from the Libyan coast, when it was approaching the nearby port of Tobruk.
The Libyan government in Tobruk is currently attempting to enforce a blockade of Derna.
Another possible reason for attacking the Turkish ship may be the support of Ankara to Libya’s self-declared Prime Minister Omar al-Hasi’s administration – an extension of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in the region and main rival of the internationally-recognized Libyan government based in Tobruk.
According to Reuters, the vessel caught on fire after the attacks and was towed to Tobruk terminal although Turkish Foreign Ministry official denied this, statng that the merchant ship was intending to return to Turkey.
In January 2015, a warplane of the internationally-recognized Libyan government attacked a Greek-operated oil tanker anchored off the coast. The attack was motivated by factions fighting for control over Libya’s oil export. Two crew members of the Greek-operated ship were killed.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry, sent a note to Libya’s embassy in Ankara and its İstanbul consulate seeking an explanation and asked for a swift investigation to bring those responsible for the attack to account.