Leaked air traffic control recordings obtained by Middle East Eye have unveiled the sinister role Emirati military has been playing in eastern Libya as the leaks show UAE’s fighter pilots are involved in carrying out airstrikes in support of rogue General, Kahlifa Haftar, and his Dignity Operation forces against rival armed groups in eastern Libya.
In a report on Tuesday, MEE confirmed that the Emirati pilots are part of an international operations room made up from Britain, France and the US as well and that all those countries are all in support of Haftar.
In a previous report, MEE disclosed information that proves the presence of UAE personnel in an international operations room at the Benina air base in Haftar-controlled Benghazi but the new tapes offer the first confirmation of the presence of the Gulf state’s pilots in the skies over Libya as well.
“In one audio file, a pilot with an Emirati accent is heard relaying coordinates to a Libyan officer in the operations room. He is then told to “check for movement” because they "don't want to waste any bombs”. MEE reported.
These newly leaked tapes are revealed while Haftar’s militias have reportedly seized a third oil terminal in eastern, which was right away condemned by the US, France, the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain in a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire.
“Yet pilots and air traffic controllers speaking in Arabic and American-, British-, French- and Italian-accented English can be heard in the latest batch of tapes, confirming the international nature of the air operation in support of Haftar’s campaign to gain control of eastern Libya from groups he has declared to be “extremists”.” MEE concluded.
