UNITED NATIONS: UN experts say it is “highly probable” that a deadly airstrike on a migrant detention center in Libya was carried out by a fighter jet operated by a government supporting Khalifa Haftar, who launched an offensive in April seeking to capture the capital, Tripoli.
The panel of experts said in a report to the UN Security Council that it “reserves identification of this member state until further physical evidence or imagery emerges to increase attribution confidence levels.”
The July 3 night attack on the detention center in Tajoura near Tripoli killed more than 50 people and injured over 130 others. UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has said the attack could amount to a war crime.
The panel, which monitors sanctions against Libya, said it “continues to investigate the circumstances of the airstrikes.”
The report’s summary and findings on the Tajoura attack were seen late Friday by The Associated Press.
Migrants and asylum seekers “remain vulnerable not only to the effects of the conflict, but to abuse” in government detention centers, including “degrading living conditions, repeated extortion, sexual and other exploitation, and torture,” the report said.
Libya became a major crossing point for migrants to Europe after the overthrow and death of longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, when the North African nation was thrown into chaos, armed militias proliferated and central authority collapsed.
The country was divided, with a weak UN-supported administration in Tripoli overseeing the country’s west and a rival government in the east aligned with the self-styled Libyan National Army led by Haftar, a former Libyan army general. Each side is backed by an array of militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.
Haftar launched the surprise military offensive on April 4 aimed at Tripoli, with support from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Russia. But he has faced stiff resistance from fighters aligned with the UN-recognized government, which is aided by Turkey and Qatar.
The attack on Tajoura was one of the deadliest since the conflict began.
The panel said it has “independent evidence from a reliable confidential source that an unknown number of Mirage 2000-9” fighter jets were using the Al-Khadim air base in eastern Libya and the Jufra base in the north-central part of the country at the time of the Tajoura attack.
Haftar’s forces don’t possess such sophisticated aircraft, the panel said.
It said the Mirage 2000-9 can operate at night and deliver precision-guided munitions and missiles.
“Therefore, the panel finds it highly probable that the airstrike was conducted using PGM (precision-guided munitions) at night by a modern FGA (fighter ground attack) aircraft owned and operated by a member state, acting in support of the HAF (Haftar armed forces),” the report said.
While no country has been named, the UAE has a fleet of Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets, which are produced by France’s Dassault Aviation. In November 2017, the UAE armed forces announced plans to upgrade the fleet.
As for Haftar’s offensive, the UN experts said it has stalled reforms and sparked a new phase of instability in Libya.
The experts also said both sides in the conflict have received weapons and military equipment, technical support and “non-Libyan fighters” in violation of a UN arms embargo.
“Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates routinely and sometimes blatantly supplied weapons, with little effort to disguise the source,” the report said. “The panel also identified the presence of Chadian and Sudanese armed groups in support of forces affiliated” to both sides.
But, the panel added, “in reality the impact of the foreign armed groups to outcomes in the conflict was limited.”
“Neither side has the military capability to effectively decide the outcome to their advantage,” the report said. “Consequently, fatalities among armed groups and civilians remain low.”
The Security Council’s 15-member committee monitoring sanctions against Libya is expected to discuss the report at the end of the month, and diplomats said in may be publicly released in December.
UN experts say Libya airstrike likely tied to Haftar allies
UN experts say Libya airstrike likely tied to Haftar allies
- The July 3 night attack on the detention center in Tajoura near Tripoli killed more than 50 people and injured over 130 others
- Libya became a major crossing point for migrants to Europe after the overthrow and death of longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011
First responders enter devastated Aleppo neighborhood after days of deadly fighting
- The US-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Daesh group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria’s national army
ALEPPO, Syria: First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.
The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.
The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.
The US-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Daesh group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria’s national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”
The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.
Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid Al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.
The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.
On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.
Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.
“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”
Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.
Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.
“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.
