…*Airline refutes claims..
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The Federal Government is to probe allegations that Turkish Airlines has been shipping illegal arms to Nigeria. A Presidency source said government would soon make its official position on the matter known and that it “is obvious that the allegations which are grave in nature would be probed.”
It would be recalled that the Airlines was alleged to have shipped weapons to unknown groups in Nigeria. This was revealed during a phone conversation.
In a tape posted on YouTube, Mehmet Karatas, an assistant executive of the airline, allegedly tells Mustafa Varank, an advisor to , to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he feels guilty over national flag carrier’s arms shipment to Nigeria.
“I do not know whether these (weapons) will kill Muslims or Christians. I feel sinful,” Karatas is allegedly heard saying.
Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines has denied the report that it has been engaged in arms shipping, noting in a written statement that the company does not transfer weapons to countries subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions.
“No arms shipments from Turkey or another country have been conducted to the country which was named in the reports,” it said. Earlier reports claimed that the company allegedly shipped weapons to unknown groups in Nigeria following the revelation of a new incriminating phone call.
“The shipments of weapons and military materials by Turkish Airlines are being properly conducted under the frame of official procedures according to principles defined by international law and International Air Transport Association (IATA),” the statement said. “For arms shipments, senders and receivers can deliver their cargo by Turkish Airlines Cargo after obtaining the necessary permissions from authorities.”
Turkish Airlines Cargo conducts shipments properly according to the rules of the countries of the senders and the recipients after taking security measures.
“Turkish Airlines, in accordance with company policy, does not ship arms to countries where there is a lack of authority or an internal conflict, as well as to countries banned by the United Nations Security Council,” it said.