Italian authorities have confirmed that Chinese military drones, which were reportedly flying to Libya as a shipment of wind turbines, were seized.
The shipment of drones violates A UN embargo.
The parts for two drones were sent by two cargo ships that arrived at the Port of Gioia Tauro in Italy from China. The containers were reportedly confiscated by Italian police prior to their loading onto ships bound for Libya.
The parts were disguised as composite wind turbine blade replicas to evade examination, but the Italian tax and customs authorities found them.
According to the Italian authorities, the drones weighed more than three tons. They were over 10 meters (33 feet) long and had an astounding wingspan of almost 20 meters (66 feet). According to reliable sources, this description is spot on for the Chinese Wing Loong II unmanned aerial aircraft that were allegedly involved.
The data presented suggests that the United States informed the Italian authorities upon the discovery of the consignment.
The drones were directed by Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the military strongman governing eastern Libya, to proceed towards Benghazi, according to anonymous sources who talked to Defense News.
This happened while Hifter was trying to seize Tripoli and western Libya from a government that the United Nations-backed. A missile strike on a military college in Tripoli killed 26 pupils, according to witnesses. The attack included unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAE has refuted this.
The charges against the two Libyan men were brought to light in April as a consequence of an operation conducted by the Canadian police. They allegedly plotted to use Libyan crude oil to buy drones from China. The outcome was the confiscation of the unmanned aerial vehicles at the port in southern Italy. Fathi Ben Ahmed Mhaouek and Mahmud Mohamed Elsuwaye Sayeh are among the people who have worked for the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency located in Montreal.
The catastrophic repercussions of civil conflict have befallen Libya ever since Col. Moammar Gadhafi was removed from power in 2011. Transfers of armament to the nation are severely prohibited under the United Nations embargo.
Russia has just unloaded a large quantity of military hardware at the Tobruk port in eastern Libya. Hiftar, who was once associated with the CIA, played a role in making that happen.
