Libya announced Tuesday that it thwarted an attempt to smuggle tens of thousands of arms from Turkey into its territories. Customs authorities said that they had seized more than 20,000 guns concealed inside a cargo container that was shipped from Turkey and had arrived at Misrata port that lies 200 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli. Some 556 crates carrying the weapons were hidden among a shipment of homes goods and toys, they said. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry condemned the smuggling operation, saying Cairo was “monitoring all attempts to destabilize Libya.” “Terrorist and extremist organizations are still trying to hamper efforts to reach a settlement in the country,” he remarked during a press conference with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita. European partners have also detected smuggling operations from Turkey and they succeeded in thwarting them, he added, saying Ankara was supporting extremist groups. “This is affecting the stability and security of the region,” noted Shoukry, who also singled out Qatar for playing a destabilizing role in Libya. He therefore, stressed the need for the international community to confront all sides that are supporting extremist groups and exploiting them for political purposes. Bourita, for his part, commented on the latest security measures that have been approved for Tripoli. He said that Morocco places as much importance on security in Libya as it does on its political affairs. “Security affairs have a direct impact on the success of political efforts,” he added. He cited Morocco’s cooperation with Egypt in reaching stability in Libya, referring to the political agreement on Libya that was signed in its town of Skhirat in 2015. The political aspects of the deal were never implemented in full and consequently neither were its security aspects, Bourita said.