Libyan eastern army accuses Turkey of sponsoring terrorism in Libya

TRIPOLI, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Libya's eastern-based army spokesman on Sunday slammed Turkey as the sponsor of terrorism in Libya.

"Turkey is the sponsor of terrorism in our country even before the start of the military war against terrorism more than three years ago," said spokesman Ahmad Al-Mismari at a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi on Sunday.

"The House of Representatives has not yet charged a commission of inquiry on the ship carrying explosives coming from Turkey. This ship was heading to the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaida, not to Misurata," Mismari added.

"We will punish Turkey and all its companies. Its contracts in Libya are invalid now," said Mismari, pointing out that there is an intelligence network between Turkey and Sudan following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visits to Sudan and Tunisia.

"After the army welcomed the upcoming elections, the Muslim Brotherhood was certain that they would lose the elections. Therefore, they resorted to the arms and explosives to create chaos," Mismari said.

He also said that the explosives on the Libyan ship seized by Greece a few days ago "threatens not only Libya, but the entire region."

Greek Coast Guards announced on Wednesday that they seized a ship with the flag of Tanzania carrying materials used to make explosives while sailing to Libya.

The ship's cargo record indicates that the cargo was loaded at the Turkish ports of Mersin and Iskenderun before heading to Djibouti and Oman.

However, Greek Coast Guards said preliminary investigation showed that the ship's captain had received orders from the ship's owner to sail to the Libyan city of Misurata, some 250 km east the capital Tripoli, to unload the entire cargo.

Libyan Foreign Ministry on Friday demanded Greece to provide the latest investigation information about the seized ship.

UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame pledged earlier on Sunday to reveal details of the seized ship. Enditem