A helicopter carrying two senior officers allied to Libya’s Islamist-backed Tripoli government was shot down Tuesday near the capitol, killing at least 14 of its 23 passengers, a Tripoli military official said. “So far, 12 bodies were recovered, confirmed the source, including the bodies of Hosein Bodaya and Duhain Al-Rammah, military officials of Libya’s Dawn militias”.
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That administration, located in the east of the country, denied it had anything to do with the aircraft’s downing.
Sharkasi vowed that Tripoli would retaliate “at the appropriate time and place”.
The helicopter had been carrying cash for a local bank on the way out and was returning with passengers to Tripoli.
The source said there may not be any survivors as the crashed helicopter was fully submerged in deep sea water.
It said that several commanders of the Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) militia coalition could have been travelling on the aircraft but there was no confirmation.
The global community has urged Libya’s rival governments to agree to a UN-sponsored peace plan. However, neither Tripoli nor Beida have agreed to overtures by United Nations special envoy Bernardino Leon for a government of national accord.
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A unity government in Libya is seen as the best chance to tackle the rise there of the Islamic State group and migrant-smuggling from Libya across the Mediterranean to Europe.
