Libya: Libyan National Army releases previously seized Turkish vessel Dec. 10. /update 1

Event

The Libyan National Army (LNA) announced on Dec. 10 that it has released the Mabrouka, a Jamaican-flagged Turkish commercial cargo ship. The LNA had seized the vessel while it was en route to the port of Misrata. LNA officials said they questioned the vessel's crew and fined them for violating sailing rules in Libyan waters. Additional details about the incident remain unclear. Turkey is a supporter of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), the rival government to the LNA.

Context

The incident transpired amid ongoing peace negotiations between Libya's rival factions. Seventy-five delegates from Libya's rival political factions are participating in the ongoing peace negotiations, which are officially called the Libya Political Dialogue Forum. The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has been sponsoring the talks and aims to bring about a consensus on a unified governance framework that can pave the way for national elections in December 2021.

A series of agreements between the UN-recognized GNA and the LNA, including a permanent ceasefire, was reached in Geneva, Switzerland, in October. The warring factions have since held talks in Tunis, Tunisia, Tangier, Morocco, and Libya in an effort to reach a permanent political solution to the country's fighting.

However, any peace deal will be tenuous in part because of the number of foreign countries that support competing factions in Libya. Despite the recent agreements, weapons continue to pour into Libya. While Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia back the LNA, Turkey, Italy, and Qatar provide support to the GNA. These countries' pursuit of divergent interests in Libya profoundly complicates efforts to arrive at a meaningful political settlement.