The Libyan Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, discussed the developments of the ongoing security operation in the western region to combat criminal gangs, drug and arms trade, human trafficking, and fuel smuggling abroad, in a meeting in Tripoli, in the presence of the Chief of the General Staff, Mohammed Haddad, the commander of the West Coast military zone, the commander of the Coast Guard and Ports Security, the commander of the Western Region Intelligence, and the commander of the security committee assigned by the Chief of Staff to develop the security plan in the western region, among other officials.
According to the Prime Minister's Media Office, Al-Dabaiba praised the operations' commitment to the precise professional rules undertaken by the Air Force, which carried out the tasks assigned to it, and its coordination with the rest of the military elements and intelligence agencies in identifying targets.
Haddad reaffirmed at the meeting the readiness of the armed forces to carry out their tasks in order to preserve the security of citizens, and rid the country of armed gangs and organized crime.
The meeting saw a presentation of the airstrikes, their details and the achieved goals. The attendees also vowed to monitor the continuation of security operations in the coming stages according to the security plan until achieving the desired goals.
The Ministry of Defense announced the end of the first phase of the military operations in the west coast region. The operations were launched by the government on May 25 against "the hideouts of fuel and drug smuggling gangs, and human and weapons traffickers."
"The results of the first phase of the operations included the destruction of seven boats used for human trafficking, six warehouses for drug dealers, weapons and equipment used by criminal gangs, and nine tanks used to smuggle fuel abroad." A statement by the Ministry of Defense said.
