Mahmoud Arfidah - Tripoli
The control of the Al-Wefaq government forces on Al-Wattia base is an important and important step in the battle against the project of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter in the coup against legitimacy in Libya, according to Libyan officials and experts confirmed to Al Jazeera Net.
Mustafa Buji, spokesman for the "Barkan Al-Ghaf" operation, confirmed that Haftar is losing a major operations room and important new strategic locations in western Libya, with the Al-Wattia air base falling into the hands of the Al-Wefaq government forces.
"The loss of Haftar and his allies, Al-Wattia base, is being denied by the air control, which previously provided them with an air superiority to fly in the cities of the Libyan west," Al-Majei told Al-Jazeera Net.
He stated that the acquisition of control by Al-Wefaq government forces gives the base a mission for military aviation to launch from the base away from Haftar missiles and artillery, as happens to the Mutaika base in Tripoli, in addition to the possibility of harnessing the Al-Wattia base to monitor land and sea borders.
Al-Majei said that the important message from the victory in al-Watiyah today is to send to the Emirates, according to which "Libya is greater than Haftar and his militia, and greater than the illusions of Abu Dhabi. Our country will not be a passage for the project of the coup against the state and the return to the rule of the military."
Neutralize and escape
For his part, the military expert, Adel Abdul Kafi, considered that the Air Force in the Al-Wefaq government managed to neutralize the Al-Wataya Air Force Base after intense strikes on the base and its open air supply routes to the Air Force, until it was unable to provide any air and ground support to the Haftar gangs in the western area.
He continued, "By controlling al-Watiyah base, the most important papers of the Haftar project in the western area and the flight of its militias from the cities of the western coast and al-Watiyah are dropped; a positive indication gives a clear message to the rest of Haftar's gangs that they must escape immediately before being captured or killed."
Abdel Kafi believes in his statement to Al-Jazeera Net that "the next mission is to liberate Tarhuna, a stronghold of militia and mercenary Haftar in the western region, given its strategic importance near Tripoli, and that it includes the main operations room and the whereabouts of Russian and African mercenaries."
And Abdul Kafi pointed out that "controlling Tarhuna represents a great military and political victory, and a key to the fall of the axes south of Tripoli in one go, in addition to that it is an important step to thwart the project of the axis of evil that supports Haftar across Libya."
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Total control
Meanwhile, the Libyan army officer in the Al-Wefaq government, Adel Al-Zintani, considered that controlling the Al-Wattaya air base enables the forces of the Al-Wefaq government to control the entire atmosphere of the western region and the western mountain regions and remove any imminent danger to them.
He stated that "by controlling Al-Wattia, all supply lines for the Haftar militia coming from the Al-Jafra military base and the Tamnant air base in southern Libya can be monitored, followed up and hit."
According to Al-Zintani, in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, the Al-Wattia base is an important strategic step to monitor the Tunisian-Libyan borders, and to target any smuggling operations carried out by groups outside the law, in addition to the large area of the base that can be taken as a major operations room for the Libyan Air Force.
Al-Zintani pointed out that the forces of the National Accord government should end the battle in the central south of Tripoli to completely end the Haftar project in the western region, and prepare the situation for the collapse of its forces in Tarhuna and the Al-Jafra and Sirte bases.
Parliament welcomes
In turn, the Libyan parliament in Tripoli welcomed the liberation of Al-Wattia Air Hall from the hegemony of what it described as gangs led by Haftar with the support of hostile external forces.
"We call on the Libyan army forces to continue to liberate the homeland from the aggressors, to accelerate the return of the displaced to their homes and to regain control of all Libyan soil," the parliament added in a statement.
The Al-Wefaq government forces had taken control of the Al-Wataya airbase, which was used by Haftar forces to attack western cities, including the capital, Tripoli.
The forces of the National Accord government obtained large quantities of light and heavy ammunition, weapons, military equipment, and aircraft that Haftar forces left before escaping from the Al-Wattia air base.
In the past few days, the Al-Wefaq government air force has intensified its air strikes on Al-Wataya base by targeting two Russian-made Panzir air defense systems, fuel trucks, ammunition, and armed vehicles, and downing a "Wing Lung" plane, a march in which the UAE supported Haftar's forces.
| Libyan citizens after their forces took control of the Al-Wataya base (French) |
The Al-Wattia Air Force Base is one of the largest air bases in Libya, which includes weapons depots, a fuel station, an airstrip, a residential city, and warplanes and Emirati planes that were used by Haftar forces to launch attacks on civilians in Tripoli.
Al-Wattia base is strategically located away from the cities, and difficult to reach for its rough terrain, as the warplanes and the path that exits from the base cover the entire western regions of Libya.
The area of Al-Wattia base is about one thousand square kilometers, and it accommodates about seven thousand soldiers. In addition, the base was used by the former regime as a base for the Mirage warplane squadron.
Fleeing elements from the western coast cities, gunmen from the entrance movement from eastern and western Libya and some mercenaries at the strategic air base were holed up.