Haftar's army shot down a plane with a foreign pilot
Since the Libyan Parliament’s troops, represented by the Libyan National Army (LNA) under the direction of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have introduced a no-fly zone in the West of Libya (in early April 2019), repeatedly сообщалось on the destruction of aircraft of the Government of National Unity (PNE). However, until recently, practically no information was received about the pilots of the downed planes, which cast doubt on the vigorous reports of the aircraft about the flawless operation of air defense.
And it turned out that the pilot of the ancient French fighter Dassault Mirage F.1, who was trying to attack the advancing units of the LNA, was a mercenary from Portugal. He flew on May 7, 2019 from the airbase of the "free" city of Misurata and intended to bomb off southwest of Tripoli. However, the pilot and his fighter were “landed” by anti-aircraft fire of the LNA air defense in the area of the city of Al-Hira (Al-Hira), located 10 km away. from the strategic city of Garyan.
The plane naturally burned out and this is well documented. The pilot was provided with medical care and his life is no longer in danger. At the same time, the nature of the injured pilot was not specified. Although in this case it doesn’t matter what the pilot hit his head with. Maybe this happened during the shelling of the aircraft or bailout, or maybe the landing was difficult, because the LNA fighters met him with clearly not enthusiastic applause. There is still a war, and he did not fly with flowers. The main thing is that in the photo next to the pilot is General Abdulsalam al-Hassi from LNA.
It should be noted that for the entire time of the second civil war in Libya (since May 2014), this is the first time that a pilot was captured. Previously, perhaps the pilots simply did not live to see this event. In any case, we do not know anything about this. Libya is basically a desert, with all the problems that arise from it. Moreover, aviation flies there really morally and physically obsolete.
By the way, the interrogation was conducted in English and the pilot said that his name was Jimmy Rees ("Jimmy Ellis"), he was 29 years old and he was from Portugal. He specified that he was hired to destroy bridges and roads, it was supposedly a “civil contract,” and was contracted by a man named Hadi.
At the same time from Portugal, the citizenship of the pilot has not yet been confirmed. All that the Ministry of Defense of this country was able to “squeeze” out of itself was that it was certainly not a working Portuguese soldier. And this is logical, because retirees usually go to mercenaries, especially to Africa.
In addition, on May 22, 2019, it became known that the PNE Air Force inflicted at least six airstrikes on aircraft positions and infrastructure in the aforementioned Garyana, which is a suburb of Tripoli. The goal is not hidden - the cessation of the supply of Haftar troops, because in the south of Tripoli there are fierce battles.
At the same time, Haftara seriously supports Egypt. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri has already said that Cairo will do everything possible to ensure that all armed groups, except the irreconcilable Islamists, come under the command of Haftar.
And it turned out that the pilot of the ancient French fighter Dassault Mirage F.1, who was trying to attack the advancing units of the LNA, was a mercenary from Portugal. He flew on May 7, 2019 from the airbase of the "free" city of Misurata and intended to bomb off southwest of Tripoli. However, the pilot and his fighter were “landed” by anti-aircraft fire of the LNA air defense in the area of the city of Al-Hira (Al-Hira), located 10 km away. from the strategic city of Garyan.
The plane naturally burned out and this is well documented. The pilot was provided with medical care and his life is no longer in danger. At the same time, the nature of the injured pilot was not specified. Although in this case it doesn’t matter what the pilot hit his head with. Maybe this happened during the shelling of the aircraft or bailout, or maybe the landing was difficult, because the LNA fighters met him with clearly not enthusiastic applause. There is still a war, and he did not fly with flowers. The main thing is that in the photo next to the pilot is General Abdulsalam al-Hassi from LNA.
It should be noted that for the entire time of the second civil war in Libya (since May 2014), this is the first time that a pilot was captured. Previously, perhaps the pilots simply did not live to see this event. In any case, we do not know anything about this. Libya is basically a desert, with all the problems that arise from it. Moreover, aviation flies there really morally and physically obsolete.
By the way, the interrogation was conducted in English and the pilot said that his name was Jimmy Rees ("Jimmy Ellis"), he was 29 years old and he was from Portugal. He specified that he was hired to destroy bridges and roads, it was supposedly a “civil contract,” and was contracted by a man named Hadi.
At the same time from Portugal, the citizenship of the pilot has not yet been confirmed. All that the Ministry of Defense of this country was able to “squeeze” out of itself was that it was certainly not a working Portuguese soldier. And this is logical, because retirees usually go to mercenaries, especially to Africa.
In addition, on May 22, 2019, it became known that the PNE Air Force inflicted at least six airstrikes on aircraft positions and infrastructure in the aforementioned Garyana, which is a suburb of Tripoli. The goal is not hidden - the cessation of the supply of Haftar troops, because in the south of Tripoli there are fierce battles.
At the same time, Haftara seriously supports Egypt. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri has already said that Cairo will do everything possible to ensure that all armed groups, except the irreconcilable Islamists, come under the command of Haftar.
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