Mahmoud Mohamed - Tripoli
Pictures published by a media unit of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar showed Egyptian-American armored vehicles used by Haftar forces in the war on the capital, Tripoli.
The Military Information Division published a video of what it called "the Special Operations Force of the 106th Brigade," along with modern Egyptian armored vehicles, which appear for the first time in the possession of Haftar's forces in order to control Tripoli.
The Terrier LT-79 armored vehicles are the latest joint venture between the Egyptian Manufacturing Authority and the American company ARMORED GROUP, which recently arrived at Haftar’s forces as part of Cairo’s support to bring down the internationally-recognized Al-Wefaq government.
Armored Terrier LT-79 was shown at the EDEX Defense and Armament Exhibition in December 2018, which was held at the Exhibition Center in New Cairo, Egypt.
The arrival of these Egyptian armored vehicles is a new violation of the decision to ban arms imposed on Libya by the United Nations Security Council since 2011, when United Nations experts announced earlier this week in a UN report that the UAE and Jordan are at the forefront of the military supportive countries for Haftar in his war against Tripoli.
Terrier lt-79 armored vehicles manufactured by the #Egyptian AOI in cooperation with #TAG appear with the #LNA units destined to participate in supporting the military operations against #GNA in #Tripoli. |
Al-Wefaq government forces documented the support of the United Arab Emirates ally Haftar with Emirati "Tiger" armored vehicles and Chinese-made "Winglong" drones and found Egyptian ammunition. Also, Al-Wefaq government forces found in American Gharyan anti-armor missiles after the expulsion of Haftar's forces from The city last June.
Unlimited support
A spokesman for the Berkane Fury operation in the Al-Wefaq government, Mustafa al-Mujai, described the military support provided by Cairo, which is constantly entering across the Egyptian border, as "unlimited."
"We do not underestimate these armor, but in the end it will devolve to our forces or turn into scrap after it was bombed by the Libyan Air Force," Al-Majei added.
He continued, in his statement to Al-Jazeera Net, "Our forces from the militia of Haftar looted the most influential and sophisticated weapons, including UAE armored vehicles, Chinese aviation, Russian weapons brought by the UAE, Egyptian ammunition, and American Javelin missiles that France brought to Haftar."
Al-Majei considered that continuing to send weapons from the countries that support Haftar increases the suffering of civilians and leads to more innocent victims who are being targeted by Haftar militias constantly in violation of international resolutions and covenants.
From #Egypt with love, #LNA just received # Egyptian-made TAG 4x4 Terrier LT-79 APCs, and will participate in the upcoming major attack on #Tripoli #Libya pic.twitter.com/p1GFS1J9JD - Mohamed Mansour 🇪🇬 (@Mansourtalk) December 11, 2019 |
Serious escalation
Member of the Supreme Council of the State Abdel-Rahman Al-Shater said that the arrival of new Egyptian American armored vehicles to Haftar is considered a dangerous escalation of the Libyan crisis.
Al-Shater pointed out that this Egyptian support aims to replace a fait accompli before the Berlin conference to propose a political formula to break the tension that prevails in the Libyan scene.
Al-Shater added to Al-Jazeera Net, "I do not blame the countries that push these deadly weapons because they have a project that they want to achieve by force, but the blame is on the major countries that manufacture weapons or have the right to manufacture them and leak them to Libya without objecting to France, China and the United States."
Al-Shater stressed that this military support for Haftar urgently requires the implementation and activation of the Al-Wefaq government agreement on security, military cooperation and mutual defense that it signed with Turkey recently.
Senior regional supporter
A member of the Supreme Council of State, Al-Qassem, described Egypt's first regional support as unlimited for Haftar, noting that this new military support "is expected after its previous support with ammunition and weapons to launch a war on Tripoli."
"These armored vehicles are no better than their predecessors, which the Emirates have brought to Haftar, and they will be dealt with and destroyed by the Libyan army and the units supporting the Al-Wefaq government," added the head of the security committee of the Supreme Council of State.
In his statement to Al-Jazeera Net, Debrez clarified that Al-Sisi no longer takes any consideration of good-neighborly relations with the Libyans, without paying attention to the international monitoring imposed by the UN Security Council on Libya.
Debre called on the reconciliation government to submit a strong protest note to the United Nations and the UN Security Council regarding countries supporting a military rig after documenting these violations.
Partial difference
The military expert, Adel Abdul Kafi, confirms to Al-Jazeera Net that these Egyptian armored vehicles have a partial impact on the battlefield and will not make a big difference in the fighting axes.
Abdul-Kafi added, "Armored vehicles may provide protection for the movements of the elements, but the possession by the Al-Wefaq government forces of weapons against these vehicles is what will fail them in any field movements."
Abdul Kafi called on the government of national reconciliation to reach out to the offer of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end the Haftar militias in Tripoli and help in combating terrorism and securing the Libyan borders and irregular migration.
And Abdul Kafi considered that Haftar aims to prolong the battle in Tripoli before the Berlin conference by continuing the regional countries to provide military equipment, drones and armored vehicles and allow their passage across the Libyan borders under the eyes of the international community.