By ReutersPublished On 2 Apr 20262 Apr 2026Chinese and Turkish combat drones may have been acquired by eastern Libya’s military leader, Khalifa Haftar – despite a United Nations weapons embargo, says the Reuters news agency.Reuters said commercial satellite images between April and December last year show at least three drones at Al Khadim desert airbase, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of the city of Benghazi.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listWhat appeared to be ground control equipment for the aircraft was still visible this year, according to three weapons experts who reviewed the images.Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) played a significant role during the civil war in Libya between 2014-2020. Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) tried to overthrow the UN-recognised government in Tripoli accusing it of harbouring armed gangs and “terrorists”. The government denied that.UN investigators said the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Russia and other countries provided vital backing to Haftar. Turkiye supported the Tripoli-based administration. China avoided taking sides.Libya’s warring factions agreed a ceasefire in 2020, but the country remains divided between Haftar’s administration in the east and the Tripoli-based government in the west led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.The arrival of new combat drones at Al Khadim “would be a huge symbolic win” for Haftar, said Anas El Gomati, head of the Libyan think tank the Sadeq Institute. He told Reuters that the drones reinforced Haftar’s hold over the east and much of the south, including major oilfields, and strengthened his hand in negotiatio …
