Bremen, Germany (dpa) – A German frigate carrying 250 soldiers departed on Tuesday at the start of a five-month mission as part of European Union efforts to enforce a long-flouted Libya arms embargo.
The Hamburg frigate set sail for the Mediterranean from the port city of Wilhelmshaven.
The EU’s Irini mission, launched in May, is tasked with preventing the flow of weapons into war-torn Libya under a United Nations embargo, as well as gathering information on illegal oil exports from the country and disrupting people smuggling in the region.
The Hamburg’s crew members are set to return on December 20 and may not see any days on land until then, due to precautions regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are facing a mission that will present the ship and crew with previously unknown challenges in several respects,” Commander Jan Fitschen said at the start of the mission.
It is taking place on “difficult political and operational terrain,” he added.
Be the first to comment on "German soldiers set sail for five-month Libyan arms embargo mission"