Libyan army seizes Qatari weapons in Derna: LNA spokesman

CAIRO – 12 June 2018: The Libyan National Army spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said the army seized in Al-Qaeda head’s house in Derna’s Shiha district a number of weapons that were stamped with the logo of the Qatari army.

In an interview with Sky News published on Tuesday, Mismari said that the Qatari weapons were found during combing a number of districts in the eastern city of Derna. The LNA spokesman has held beliefs that Qatar intervenes in the fight in Syria and backs terrorist groups there.



Mismari said the ammunition boxes and various weapons seized resemble those seized in Benghazi. In July 2017, Mismari said Qatar provided terrorist organizations with military and logistic support.

Benghazi battle

The liberation of Benghazi was hindered because of the little ammunition possessed by the Libyan army at the time, while extremist militants were supported by Qatar, Mismari added.

In late December, military officials announced that the Eastern Libyan forces have retaken from Islamist fighters the last district of Benghazi, the country's second largest city.


Members of the Libyan army's special forces celebrate after the liberation of the last region from Islamist militants in their last stronghold in Benghazi, Libya, July 5, 2017 – REUTERS

The battle for Benghazi, waged between forces led by General Khalifa Haftar and an array of Islamist militants and other fighters, has been part of a broader conflict since Libya slipped into turmoil following the 2011 fall of strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Derna battle

The LNA, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has launched a military operation against terrorists and militants in al-Qaeda hideouts in Derna since April. On Friday, the army announced that it has restored most of the eastern city from the terrorists, AP reported.

High-risk militant Omar Refaei Sorour (aka Abu Abdullah al-Masry) and his family were reportedly killed in a military airstrike by the LNA in the city.

Sorour was the mufti of the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna (DMSC), a group of militants who call for applying Islamic Sharia in Derna.

In a telephone interview with News Eye Gate in late May, Mismari said that Turkey and Qatar provided terrorists with weapons in 2012 and 2013. The commander of the Omar Mukhtar Operations Room, Brigadier Salim Al-Rafadi, said Qatar’s support for terrorists in Derna will not impede liberating the city.