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Frigate "Hamburg":
Photo: Sina Schuldt / dpa
Before the scandal surrounding the inspection of the Turkish freighter "Roseline A" by the German armed forces, the military had much more concrete evidence of illegal arms smuggling than was previously known.
According to SPIEGEL information, analysts from the EU mission »Irini«, which is supposed to prevent arms deliveries across the Mediterranean Sea to Libya, identified on satellite images of the ship's previous port stay in Misurata, Libya, that armored military vehicles had been unloaded.
During the recent port visit of the "Roseline A" in the Turkish port of Ambarli in November, surveillance images revealed that suspicious goods had been brought on board again.
Thereupon the leadership of the "Irini" mission decided to have the ship checked.
The crew of the Bundeswehr frigate "Hamburg" stopped the "Roseline A" last Sunday afternoon a good 200 kilometers north of Benghazi in the Mediterranean Sea and announced the inspection through several diplomatic channels to Turkey, under whose flag the ship is sailing.
However, the investigation had to be stopped spontaneously as Ankara lodged a sharp diplomatic protest about five hours after the announcement of the inspection.
At this point in time, the German soldiers had only checked a few of the 150 or so freight containers on board, but found no weapons.
A day later, Turkey followed up with sharp protests.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry described the operation as illegal and accused the Bundeswehr of using force against the civilian team.
Even President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan interfered and spoke of harassment by the German soldiers.
EU diplomats see the harsh reactions as an indication that the suspicion about the illegal cargo was correct.
From security circles it was said that the EU mission had had the ship in its sights for a long time.
The »Roseline A« had set off from Turkey to Libya at least eight times this year alone.
In addition to Misurata, she also called at Chums and the capital Tripoli.
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