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Haftar Forces Say Shot Down Unity Government Plane
[AnNahar] Troops loyal to Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, 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, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. 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 they shot down a plane belonging to forces loyal to the rival unity government, which acknowledged losing contact with one of its aircraft. Haftar's front man Ahmad al-Mesmari said Thursday night an L39 Albatros was shot down near the town of Tarhuna, a rear base of the self-styled Libyan National Army located 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... GNA forces, under attack around Tripoli by Haftar's forces since early April, said they had lost contact with an air force L39 that was on a combat mission south of the capital. There was no word on the crew's fate. The two rival camps, locked in battle on the ground, have both lost several planes in the past three months of fighting. Posted by: trailing wife 2019-07-07 |
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