The exchange took place in Ash Swarif, a small community in Jufra district in central Libya, a zone controlled by Khalifa Haftar’s forces.
Tripoli authorities have released a pilot of the forces of the strongman of eastern Libya, Khalifa Haftar, after three years – held since 2019 -, as part of an exchange of prisoners of the opposing sides, Libyan media reported yesterday Monday.
The operator, who was captured in 2019 amid an assault by his forces ordered by Marshal Haftar to capture Tripoli, was exchanged with about fifteen captives from the other side, according to Libyan media reports, citing government and military sources.
The exchange took place in Ash Swarif, a small community in the Jufra district of central Libya, a zone controlled by Khalifa Haftar’s forces.
Visuals showing the pilot, sporting a long beard, tunic and traditional Libyan vest, were released on social media sites yesterday.
Libya has been plunged into chaos since the uprising that toppled the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with two rival governments, a myriad of paramilitary groups and foreign mercenaries vying for power against the backdrop of foreign intervention.
Field Marshal Haftar launched a large-scale, unsuccessful operation in April 2019 to capture Tripoli, the Libyan capital and seat of the UN-recognized government. The attack ended in June 2020.
In December 2019, troops loyal to the Tripoli-based government announced that they shot down a MiG-23 variable-geometry fighter/bomber belonging to Marshal Haftar’s forces south of Zawiya (45 km west of Tripoli) and captured its pilot. .
Khalifa Haftar’s forces confirmed the loss of the MiG-23 but attributed it to a “technical failure”. They recognized that the pilot, who made use of the ejection seat of the fighter, fell into the hands of their opponents.
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