Libya announces dismantling of cell responsible for drone attacks

Libya’s Government of National Unity announced the dismantling of a “cell” it blamed for drone attacks against infrastructure and the arrest of five people, including Libyans and foreigners.

The government, which controls western Libya under Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, said the arrests followed a major security and intelligence operation conducted by the Defense Ministry. It linked those detained to drone strikes targeting oil depots in Tripoli and Zawiya, but released no further details about them.

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isolated or random incidents

The Defense Ministry said it had also frustrated plans for further attacks. The targets allegedly included a power station south of Tripoli, other vital facilities, and political, security and military figures.

The Government of National Unity said the attacks were not “isolated or random incidents,” but part of a “sabotage plan” that systematically targeted essential services. It stressed that the arrests did not mark “the end of the operation,” but rather the beginning of efforts to fully uncover the alleged plot and its wider links.

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sabotage plan

A wave of drone-related attacks began on Aug. 9 with an assault on the railway administration headquarters in Surman, near Zawiya, according to a municipal statement. The largest attack struck the Zawiya refinery, where drone impacts caused a fire that burned for nearly 20 hours. About an hour earlier, Libya’s western telecommunications company had been sabotaged and set on fire, cutting communications and severely damaging infrastructure, the state-owned company said.

The western region also saw intense clashes between armed groups in May that lasted about 12 hours, killed at least four people and wounded more than 30. Libya has faced recurring violence and institutional division since the last legislative elections in 2014, with the Government of National Unity based in the west and Khalifa Haftar controlling the east.

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the end of the operation