TRIPOLI, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Thursday said that the UN Panel of Experts is expected to look into two seized shipments of arms from Turkey.
"Reports of a large shipment of weapons arriving at Libya's shore are extremely disconcerting," the UNSMIL said in a statement.
"Libya needs stability and peace, not more weapons. The UN Security Council decision to ban the import and export of arms is clear and explicit. We expect Panel of Experts to look into this matter," the statement said.
The Libyan government announced Thursday it will start an investigation into the two shipments, and contact Turkish authorities to clarify the circumstances of the shipments, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj's spokesman Mohamed al-Sallak said in a statement.
"Prime Minister Fayez Serraj issued instructions to the concerned security agencies to open a thorough investigation into the two arms and ammunition shipments seized at Khoms port," the statement said.
Serraj also instructed the Foreign Ministry to contact Turkish authorities to clarify the circumstances and causes of the incident, it said.
The Libyan eastern-based army on Wednesday demanded the UN Security Council start an immediate investigation into the two shipments of arms from Turkey that were seized in Khoms.
"The ammunition in those shipments included more than 4.2 million bullets, enough to kill nearly 80 percent of the Libyan people, as well as pistols and rifles with their accessories, including silencers used for assassinations," the army said in a statement.
"This is a proof that the purpose (of those arms) is to be used for terrorist operations in the Libyan territories," it added.
The UN Security Council has imposed a ban on the sale and supply of arms to Libya since 2011.
