Airstrike escalation in Libya 

Libya’s National Unity Government (GNU) claimed it carried out airstrikes against criminal trafficking gangs in the area of Zawiya, west of Tripoli, on 25th May. 

The GNU’s Defense Ministry said the operation was aimed at cracking down on smuggling on Libya’s western coast area on the orders from Prime and Defense Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

But a member of Libya’s rival House of Representatives, Ali Buzreiba, claimed the strikes were carried out by Turkish drones at the request of the GNU.

A video emerged on social media appeared to confirm that, showing debris from a Turkish MAM-L surface-to-air missile typically fired from a TB-2 Bayraktar drone.

Buzreiba described the actions as “a declaration… of war,” according to Libya Observer. The GNU is not known to possess combat aircraft.

Unconfirmed reports suggested the strikes targeted sites linked to the Stability Support Authority (SSA), an umbrella name for various militias operating in western Libya’s coastal regions under the influence of Tripoli-based powerbrokers.

GSPI