US Lost A Spy Drone Over Libyan Capital Tripoli - Pentagon Remains Silent

They've been fighting in Libya for months. The US is monitoring the situation with drones, but now one of their drones has disappeared without a trace.

The US army has lost a drone over Libya, a country in crisis. The unarmed drone was lost on Thursday over Tripoli, Libya's capital, according to the US Africom military command for Africa in Washington on Friday (local time). The Pentagon did not provide an explanation for the disappearance of the drone. The incident is now being investigated.

According to Africom, the US army is using drones in Libya to assess the current security situation in the country and monitor "violent extremist activities. "These operations are crucial for the fight against terrorist activities in Libya and are fully coordinated with the responsible government representatives," the US Army stressed.

Fierce battles for supremacy
In Libya, government loyal troops and units of renegade General Haftar have been fighting bitter battles for supremacy since April. The North African country has been in chaos since the fall and violent death of long-time ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011. The internationally recognised unity government in Tripoli is weak and has no control over much of the country. Haftar supports a counter-government in eastern Libya.

In addition, fighters allied with the Jihadist militia Islamic State (IS) are active in the country. In September, the US army attacked suspected Islamists in Libya from the air, killing dozens of extremists according to its own statements.

Francis Tawiah (Duisburg - Germany)