A Libyan National Army Aero L-39 Albatros military training aircraft made an emergency landing on a road in the southern Tunisian town of Beni Khadash and its pilot has been detained
There were no fatalities. Tunisia’s Defence Ministry said a Libyan military plane made an emergency landing in southern Tunisia due to a technical failure.
Tunisia’s air force prepared to intercept the L-39 warplane but it landed before it could be reached, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
In a statement, the ministry said the plane violated Tunisian airspace and made an emergency landing in the city of Medinine before it was intercepted by Tunisian defence systems.
A Tunisian military aircraft headed to the site and it was found that the plane was a military one from Libya, the statement said.
It added that the plane was piloted by a colonel, who said he made the landing due to a failure.
Meanwhile, a military spokesman for Libya’s UN-backed government said the military plane belonged to the rival forces of Commander Khalifa Haftar, which have been trying to seize the Libyan capital, Tripoli, since April.
A #Libya National Army Aero L-39 Albatros military training aircraft made an emergency landing on a road in the southern #Tunisia town of Beni Khadash and its pilot has been detained – See Details: https://t.co/G4OAgWgERJ pic.twitter.com/UVI4eWxcxa
— Fighter jets World (@FJW_Aviation) July 22, 2019
The spokesman, Mohammed Gannouno, denied reports that the aircraft belonged to the forces of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
In April, Haftar ordered his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) forces to capture the embattled Libyan capital from the GNA, headed by Fayez Serraj. The violence has raised global fears that UN efforts to find a political solution to Libya’s eight years of unrest may be derailed. Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 revolt that toppled long-time dictator Moamer Gaddafi.
Tunisia ‘s Ministry of Defence says that a pilot is arrested after a damaged Libyan warplane, reported to be a L-39 Albatros, makes an emergency landing on a road near the southern town of Beni Khadash. (Reuters)