Libyan Army shoots down Turkish unmanned aircraft over Sirte

The Libyan Army Air Force officer, Mahmoud Al-Marghani, said that Turkey “this morning, a Turkey flew a drone from one of its bases in Misrata  towards the city of Sirte to target Libyan Army’s positions.”

Al-Marghani added that “the air defense media targeted the plane before it reached any Libyan Army site, and it was shot down near the western coast of the city of Sirte.”

The city of Sirte, which was the birthplace of the former Libyan President Mu’ammar Al-Gaddafi, was captured by the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) in 2015 and later retaken by the GNA forces.

In early 2020, the Libyan National Army would take control of Sirte after launching a quick attack in north-central Libya.

It is noteworthy to mention that the front stretching from Sirte in the east, to Misrata in the west, has witnessed for several days a relatively calm period between the Libyan Army and Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces.

However, this brief period of calm is not expected to last for long, as both forces have been amassing their troops along the western front of Sirte, in anticipation for a major battle near the coast.