Special to WorldTribune.com

ATHENS — Greece has intercepted a weapons ship believed destined to
Sunni rebels in Syria.

Officials said Hellenic Coast Guard captured a ship with more than
20,000 assault rifles as well as ammunition and explosives. They said the
weapons shipment came from Ukraine and was heading for the Turkish port of
Iskenderun.

“The exact destination of the arms and ammunition has yet to be verified,” the coast guard said.

The shipment, intercepted by Greece off the island of Symi on Nov. 7, was one of the largest ever reported in the Aegean Sea and believed headed to Sunni rebels in Syria.

The ship was identified as the Lebanese ship Nour M. and sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone.

“There is conflicting information concerning its destination, considering that the ports of Tartous in Syria and Tripoli in Libya have both been declared as destination ports to marine traffic systems, while
Iskenderun was declared as destination port by the ship’s captain,” Athens News Agency said on Nov. 8.

Officials said the seized ship was employed for the trafficking of
illegal drugs. They said the coast guard has intensified patrols along
Greece’s eastern border.

Turkey has also reported the interception of weapons for the Sunni rebel
movement in Syria. Prosecutors have charged six people with trying to
smuggle ammunition in a truck seized in the southeastern city of Adana on
Nov. 7. The truck was said to have contained nearly 1,000 mortar shells.

For his part, the Turkish captain of Nour M. said the cargo was destined
for Libya. The captain, Huseyin Yilmaz denied that his ship was carrying
weapons or explosives.

“The ship had on board containers that we loaded in Ukraine to be
transported to the port of Tripoli and then delivered to the Libyan Defense
Ministry,” Yilmaz told Turkey’s Dogan News Agency.

  000 assault rifles believed headed for Syrian rebels, Aegean Sea, Greece intercepts ship with 20, Hellenic Coast Guard, island of Symi, Nour M.