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Government forces in Libya say Emirati drones have carried out two airstrikes in support of Libyan rebels near the city of Sirte.
Mustafa al-Mujie, a spokesman for Libyan government forces, told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that Emirati drones supporting the rebels under the command of renegade general Khalifa Haftar twice raided al-Washka area, west of Sirte.
“One of the strikes targeted a post office, causing the suspension of communications there,” Mujie said, adding that only material damage had been caused.
A flight-tracking data provider said last month that the United Arab Emirates had sent more than 100 shipments of arms to Libya by air since mid-January, despite a United Nations (UN) arms embargo against the war-ravaged country. But the airstrikes near Sirte marked the first time that the Emirates was purportedly operating drones to support the rebels.
Since 2014, Libya has been divided between the Tripoli-based government and a camp in the eastern city of Tobruk, supported militarily by Haftar’s rebels.
Haftar has been receiving backing from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and his forces have been fighting to capture Tripoli since April last year. The Libyan government received support mainly from Turkey.
Mujie also said that the government forces had on Monday conducted an airstrike on a fuel tanker in the city of Bani Walid that was due to supply Haftar’s militia.
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