Libya’s UN-backed government announced Thursday it will start an investigation into two seized shipments of arms from Turkey.

"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,” Serraj’s spokesman Mohamed al-Sallak said in a statement.

Serraj also instructed the Foreign Ministry to contact Turkish authorities to clarify the circumstances and causes of the incident, the statement 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.

Xinhua