Libya's UN-recognized GNA forces down UAE combat drone

Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) says its forces have managed to down a United Arab Emirates (UAE) combat drone in the skies of the northern parts of the country.

"Our forces successfully shot down an Emirati drone south of Misrata city", some 187 kilometers to the east of Tripoli, Turkey's Anadolu News Agency quoted Mohammad Gununu, the spokesman for the GNA-led Burkan al-Ghadab Operation (Volcano of Rage), as saying on Sunday, adding the drone was "equipped with guided missiles."

The all-out operation, part of the larger Operation Peace Storm, was launched by GNA forces on Saturday to liberate Tarhuna city, which is Haftar's main foothold in west Libya.

Abu Dhabi, one of the key allies of the rebel forces, has not yet commented on the development.

Earlier this month, the GNA said that Emirati drones, which are conducting airstrikes against the government's positions, had twice raided al-Washka area, west of Sirte, which is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi.

A flight-tracking data provider revealed last month that the UAE had sent more than 100 shipments of arms to Libya by air since mid-January, despite a UN arms embargo against the war-torn country. However, the airstrikes near Sirte marked the first time that the UAE is operating drones to support the rebels.

According to a report by the Guardian last month, most of the suspect Emirati flights leave military bases in the UAE, while some others depart from a UAE-run base in Eritrea, where a dictatorial regime is in charge and there is almost no international monitoring.

The report by the British daily newspaper also said that these shipments might contain heavier artillery plus other arms and ammunition. The LNA had in February pounded the center of Tripoli with shelling from long-range artillery.  

Since 2014, two rival seats of power have emerged in the North African country, namely the internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, known as the GNA, and another group based in the eastern city of Tobruk, supported militarily by rebel forces, collectively known as the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), under the command of renegade General Khalifa Haftar.

The rebel leader, who is primarily supported by the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, launched a deadly offensive to capture the capital Tripoli, the seat of the GNA, in April last year. Despite fierce fighting, he has so far failed to achieve his objective of ousting the GNA, and the offensive has stalled outside the city.

On Saturday, the GNA announced that the Libyan army troops had launched an all-out military operation early in the day and advanced toward the strategic town of Tarhuna, about 65 kilometers southeast of Tripoli, seizing several towns and capturing dozens of rebels on the way.

SS