UN accuses UAE of operating air bridge to support Haftar in Libya

A confidential United Nations report revealed that the UAE is operating an air bridge to supply weapons to Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar in Libya, violating the UN arms embargo imposed on the oil-rich country, according to US news agency Bloomberg.

The news agency pointed out that a United Nations expert committee tasked with monitoring compliance with the sanctions imposed on Libya had conducted an investigation into 37 flights.

The report pointed out that the flights operated through a complex network of companies registered in the UAE, Kazakhstan and the British Virgin Islands.

The United Nations noticed an increase in the number of secret flights taking off from the UAE and from its air base in Eritrea towards airstrips controlled by Haftar, who is fighting to topple the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

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The UAE Ambassador to the United Nations, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, said the allegations were false.

The UN-backed GNA is struggling to impose control over the war-torn country which saw a new wave of violence launched by Haftar last year in an attempt to gain control of the capital Tripoli.

The war soon turned into a proxy conflict that brought regional and international powers into the country and attracted mercenaries.

Haftar is backed by Egypt, the UAE as well as Russia, while Turkey is supporting the GNA.