Libya - Weekly situation report 15-21 March

The Libyan National Army has launched its “law enforcement operations” in southern Libya by deploying reinforcement on the Brak al-Shati airbase. Shells continue to fall in several parts of the city of Sebha. In eastern of the country, LNA members suffered an attack by militants of the Derna Mujahideen Shoura Council (DMSC) which captured tanks and vehicles. Libyan coast guards rescued about 200 migrants while an incident occurred with a Spanish NGO ship which was rescuing 216 migrants in international waters. Coast guards also intercepted a Greek oil tanker with the flag of Togo which was carrying about 950,000 litres of fuel.

This report includes : - Situation in southern Libya - Situation in eastern Libya - Situation in western Libya - Coast guards activities - Foreign military flights - Demining activities To access to the full PDF report (1,300 words, 7 pages), please contact Arnaud Delalande

Libyan National Army Air Force MiG shot down over Derna

The Libyan National Army Air Force has lost a new aircraft over Derna today, shot down by Derna Mujahidine Shura Council (DMSC) militants. The pilot, Adel Al-Jihani, and the co-pilot, Wael Al-Wakwak, ejected but Al-Jihani died from his wounds shortly after it was detained by DMSC. According to LNA spokesman, the aircraft was a MiG-21, but other LNA sources claimed it was a MiG-23. The fact that the crew took off from Tobruk airbase would confirm that it would indeed be one of the three remained MiG-21UMs of the fleet (serial number 073, 076 or 117).

Edit 30 July 2017 : It seems that the pilot, Adel Al-Jihani was a MiG-23 pilot and has been executed in retaliation of previous airstrike performed by him ... The lost aircraft is therfore MiG-23UB '8008'

MiG 23 shot down by MSCD in al Hamar, south #Derna, reportedly by SA18 #missile #Libya video of wreckage cannot be verified pic.twitter.com/G2M7pYh82Z

— Viraj Pattni (@intlsec) 29 juillet 2017

Video of the supposed crash site

Egypt Has Joined the Air War in Libya

On May 26, 2017, armed men traveling in pickup trucks gunned down 28 Coptic Christians and wounded 26 as the Christians were on their way to visit a monastery in Egypt’s Minya province. Islamic State has claimed its responsibility for the attack. That same evening, Egypt announced that its air force had carried out six air raids on ISIS camps near the Libyan city of Derna. Cairo suspects that the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition of Islamist militias that formed in December 2014, supported the murders.

The strikes involved F-16C/D Block 52s covered by at least two Rafales. Weirdly, the Egyptian government posted a video supposed illustrating the operation, but the footage actually depicts a later strike on the city of Hun.

Egypt Has Joined the Air War in Libya - The skies are getting crowded