Posted on 09/19/2020 11:07:44 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
U.S. Africa Command says that at least two MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets, possibly piloted by shadowy Russian mercenaries, have crashed in Libya. Jared Szuba, the Pentagon correspondent for AI-Monitor, Tweeted out that one of the jets was apparently lost on June 28, while the other went down on September 7, 2020. This information had come in a statement from Rear Admiral Heidi Berg, U.S. Africa Command's (AFRICOM) director of intelligence.
Another tweet indicates that Berg believes that "Russian fighter aircraft," presumably MiG-29s too, but potentially also Su-24 Fencer strike aircraft, have conducted airstrikes in Libya. AI-Monitor's Szuba follows that up by repeating AFRICOM's assertion that the Russian aircraft are being operated by paramilitary contractors from the Wagner Group. This organization has very close connections to Russia's Main Directorate military intelligence agency, better known by the Russian acronym GRU.
Perhaps not coincidentally, a video emerged on social media earlier this week apparently showing a Russian-speaking pilot after their aircraft went down in Libya. The second half of the clip suggested he was about to be picked up by a Mi-24 Hind gunship helicopter.
That two-minute video was not dated and it was inconclusive as to whether it showed a genuine rescue effort to retrieve a just-downed pilot, or if it was footage from a combat search and rescue (CSAR) exercise...
At least 14 Russian-sourced jets have been operating in Libya since May in support of Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which has its main hub in the eastern city of Tobruk. The LNA is engaged in a civil conflict with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), headquartered in Tripoli.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...
[subtitled] US Africa Command official provides dates of two MiG-29 losses and reiterates the jets' connections to Wagner Group
“ shadowy Russian mercenaries”
Related to a “shadowy filmmaker”?
A MiG-29 fighter jet, allegedly owned by Russian state-sponsored private military contractors, has been shot down in Libya.
A MiG-29 (NATO reporting name - "Fulcrum") fighter aircraft has been shot down near Sirte, Libya.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect additional comments from U.S. Africa Command.
At least two MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets, piloted by Wagner paramilitary contractors, crashed in Libya, according to the U.S. Africa Command.
The 14 MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets and Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer bombers delivered by Russia to Libya in May.
In May, these warplanes flew from Russia and made a stopover in Iran's eastern Hamedan airbase. They then flew on to Russia's Khmeimim airbase in western Syria, where social media photographs clearly showed that they were unmarked. Russian Air Force jets then escorted them to Al-Jufra airbase in Libya, which is controlled by the Libyan National Army (LNA) group led by General Khalifa Haftar.
CORRECTION: Story corrected on September 12 to note that this footage does not apply to this incident and was filmed two years ago.MiG-29 fighter jet shot down over Libya | Dylan Malyasov | Sep 8, 2020
MiG = Flying coffin?
Decades ago, the Wagner Group used to make silent movies under the name "Keystone Kops".
What a weasel title. At least two. One would assume it happened this morning. Which would have meant a decent-sized aerial conflict. One was in June LOL
Prime Minister of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) Farrej al-Sarraj announced on Wednesday his intention to step down, prompting a flurry of speculation about his reasons for doing so, as well as fears that his resignation could cause further turbulence in a country racked by nearly a decade of chaos.
Almost five years after he was appointed head of the Tripoli-based GNA, Fayez al-Sarraj threw in the towel on Wednesday. The Libyan prime minister said in a short televised address that he plans to leave office before the end of October to make way for a replacement...
Libya has been in chaos since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011. Over the past year, the GNA has gained the upper hand over military strongman Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army - with Turkish military and technological support crucial in turning the tide, especially through the supply of drones.
Another possible explanation for Sarrej's resignation, Phares said, is that it was a matter of him bowing to pressure from recent wave of protests over deteriorating living conditions in Libya...
From Misrata, the strategically located city whose militias played a crucial role in the defence of Tripoli, Bashagha has often been described as Ankara's man in Libya. Tellingly, he was greeted by some 300 militiaman in a show of force at Tripoli airport when he returned from a trip to Turkey in late August...
...the political tussle for control of the country has heated up since the GNA repulsed Haftar's offensive on Tripoli in June.
Sarrej and Haftar met for diplomatic talks in Switzerland and Morocco earlier in September - but any political turbulence provoked by Sarrej's resignation risks disrupting this spirit of dialogue between Libya's two rival governments.UN-backed Libyan PM Sarraj's mysterious resignation announcement | Friday, September 18, 2020 | Marc Daou | France 24
What a weasel way to try to spin the title.
Others will know more about this particular model, but it seems to me that flying a fighter must be mighty unforgiving. :^)
No surprise. The desert is a tough environment for any kind of high performance vehicle. No flight hours, no crashes. Given that these guys are there to prevent the Turkish-backed GNA from beating the LNA, there’s no alternative to fairly frequent sorties.
That’s 3 by my count
Yup, the Benghazi scapegoat — disgusting.
Not really, the title makes you think two collided, got shot down, something... yesterday or today.
Retarded title.
Anyway, whichever side they are fighting for, sad to say but we and the EU are probably on the jihadi/Soros side as in Syria.
Since the Obama/Facebook Arab spring, we usually support the bad guys.
More examples of Russian technology maintenance?
Maybe but at least they state what really happened in the first paragraph of the article. There’s a lot of clickbait where they won’t tell you the dates of the crashes until the very last paragraph. I’m not singing the praises of The Drive but they’re not the worst out there either. The biggest alphabet MSM networks are a lot worse.
At least the article is straight-up but yes, the title is clickbait.
Thanks for destabilizing Libya Hillary.
She and Hussein did a hell of a job. Funny how Obozo was toppling middle-eastern governments and giving them to the muslim brotherhood as gifts, but Trump is CRAZY!!!
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