The Libyan government has fervently denied allegations suggesting that it was behind the airbase drone assault on the Al-Kharruba airbase, a known operational base for the Russian paramilitary group, Wagner, which occurred in the early hours of Friday. Notably, the aerial attack resulted in no casualties, with the origin of the assault remaining uncertain.
The Al-Kharruba base, situated 150km southwest of Benghazi, serves as an essential stronghold for the Wagner mercenaries, with the group’s footprints scattered across oil-rich eastern Libya and the southern parts of the country. The latter areas have seen an influx of fighters from Chad, Sudan, Niger, and Syria, all lending their strength to General Khalifa Haftar in the pursuit of capturing Tripoli.
General Mohamad al-Haddad, Army Chief of Staff, strongly denied the Tripoli-based authorities’ involvement in the drone strike. “None of our aircraft targeted any site in the east,” al-Haddad stated, as reported by Libyan news outlet, Addresslibya. He added that the reports were a ploy to inflame a new war amongst Libyan brothers and to implicate Libya in an uninvited regional conflict.
Various Libyan and Arab news platforms have suggested that the aircraft deployed for the airbase drone assault belonged to the UN-recognised government in the politically fractured Libya. The Libyan Defence Ministry expressed surprise over these assertions. “We respect the ceasefire signed in October 2020,” the Ministry emphasised, referring to the truce with Haftar that ended his unsuccessful 2019-2020 assault on the capital.
Since the 2011 revolt that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been mired in intermittent conflict, drawing in multiple foreign powers. The country remains divided between an interim government stationed in the west, in Tripoli, and another in the east, backed by Haftar.
Image Caption: Maher A. A. Abdussalam on Wikipedia
