Satellite images suggest that eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar has acquired advanced combat drones despite a UN arms embargo. Analysts reviewing the imagery identified what appears to be a Chinese-made Feilong-1 and two Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2s stationed at the Al Khadim desert airbase. Given that Haftar’s Libyan National Army lacks the technical expertise to operate these advanced systems, serious questions arise regarding who supplied and is currently piloting them. With this equipment, Haftar’s eastern administration gains enhanced military deterrence and bargaining power in negotiations over Libya’s national unity, while the rival government in Tripoli risks losing strategic leverage. Furthermore, such a development undermines the United Nations’ authority as it will mean its decade-long arms embargo has been flouted. Meanwhile, the unchecked influx of high-tech weaponry into Libya’s fractured political landscape hurts peace negotiations and cements the country as a heavily militarized proxy battleground for foreign powers.
Al Jazeera
