This archive report was first published on 9 July 2019.
Published on July 9, 2019, a report by The Guardian revealed that the United Arab Emirates supplied attack helicopters, warplanes, and drones to General Khalifa Haftar's air force during the battle for control of Benghazi between 2014 and 2017.
France, under the leadership of President François Hollande, also provided military assistance to Haftar's forces. In July 2016, Hollande confirmed that three French Special Forces soldiers had been killed in a helicopter crash in Libya during 'dangerous intelligence operations.'
However, critics argue that France's military activities in Libya breached international law. The United Nations arms embargo, in place since 2011, has been widely flouted by Middle Eastern and European powers seeking to influence the outcome of the war.
United Nations inspectors have documented numerous breaches of the embargo by the United Arab Emirates, which has stationed warplanes on an air base in eastern Libya. The Emirates has also stepped up its military assistance to Haftar, including armed Chinese drones and a Russian-made surface-to-air missile system.
On the other side of the war, Qatar and Turkey have funded Islamist factions in Libya since 2011. Turkey has ramped up its engagement, sending armed drones and armored vehicles to the forces of the Government of National Unity, which is backed by the United Nations.
