CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2019) The weaponry-loaded Il-76 airlifter which was destroyed in the Libyan city Misrata by the Libyan National Army (LNA) under command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar was leased from a Ukrainian company, an LNA representative told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the LNA reported destroying an Il-76 aircraft with weaponry on board upon its landing in the Misrata airport.
"This airplane came from Turkey and was leased from a Ukrainian company," the representative said.
Libya has not been functioning as a unified state since 2011. Two rival governments have split the country, with the LNA in the east and the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west. The capital, Tripoli, has become a battlefield of continuous military operations that have left the city destroyed and hundreds of people killed.
Earlier in June, the LNA has accused Turkey of assistance to the GNA through providing them with drones during fights for the strategic city Garyan.
