Libyan Gov’t Seizes US-, Chinese-made Missiles from Haftar’s Troops

Libyan government forces seized US and Chinese rockets and drones last week when they captured Gharyan, a town south of Tripoli, from eastern troops loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar, officials said on Saturday. Some 150 prisoners were taken. The weapons included US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles and Chinese-made laser-guided artillery shells, as well as combat drones. Inscriptions on the Javelin missiles said they had initially belonged to the United Arab Emirates, one of Haftar’s principal backers. On Friday, Haftar’s forces announced they would ban commercial flights to Turkey and attack Turkish interests in the North African country. Turkey has supplied military equipment to the internationally-backed government of Fayez al-Sarraj. Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, control of Libya has been split between Serraj, based in Tripoli, and Haftar, based in Benghazi. In recent months, Haftar’s Libyan National Army has swept south and west, taking oil fields and threatening Sarraj’s hold on the capital city.