Russian Fighter Jets Spotted Flying Over Key Libyan City Under Seige

Photos purportedly showing an LAF Mig-29 flying over Sirte, today. #Libya pic.twitter.com/tGjF2RDxpz

— HElshelmani (@HElshelmani) June 10, 2020

Warzone/The Drive: MiG-29 Fighter Jet Reportedly Appears Over Key Libyan City That Is Now Under Siege

Separately, Turkish warships blocked the Greek Navy from boarding a cargo ship in the Mediterranean suspected of carrying arms to Libya.

There are as yet unconfirmed reports that at least one MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter from a tranche of jets that Russia sent to Libya to bolster forces aligned with strongman Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army last month has now flown a mission over the strategic coastal city of Sirte. This comes as the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord is pushing to retake control of that area after weeks of substantial victories fueled by Turkish military assistance, especially deliveries of armed drones.

The reported sighting of the MiG-29 over Sirte also follows a Greek Navy frigate's attempt to board and inspect a Turkish-operated Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea that is suspected of carrying a new shipment of Turkish weapons or other military equipment bound for Libya in violation of the United Nations arms embargo on that country. Turkish frigates escorting the vessel rejected the request and warned off the Greek warship, which is now reportedly shadowing the flotilla. This all underscores the growing spillover of broader geopolitical competition in the Mediterranean region emanating from the Libyan civil conflict.

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WNU Editor: Russia has raised the stakes .... Russia raises stakes with 'brazen' military intervention in Libyan conflict (CNN). And Russia will probably persevere in this conflict .... Russia likely to mostly have its way in Libya, as it did in Syria (Gwynne Dyer, London Free Press).