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Missing surveillance aircraft found in southern Al-Kufra, pilot dead
[Libya Observer] The air force of Dignity Operation forces led by Khalifa Haftar... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... said Wednesday that they found the crashed "Smart Kit" aircraft of al-Kufra airbase at Hanager district, in al-Kufra city. The aircraft was reported missing on Tuesday. The pilot and co-pilot of the aircraft, Sadam Ghaith and Mohammed Hasnawi respectively, were found dead. On Facebook Haftar's air force command said the aircraft took off for surveillance duties after information about Sudanese rebels' vehicles being located near Libyan southeastern borders. Search for the missing aircraft started Tuesday afternoon after al-Kufra airbase lost contact with it during its mission. The aircraft disappeared at about 3.00pm Libya timing. Posted by: Fred 2017-05-25 |
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