Forces loyal to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar claim to have shot down a fighter jet near Tripoli and captured its pilot, who they say is a Portuguese mercenary. The Mirage F1 was downed in the Al-Hira region, approximately 50 miles south of the capital, according to a Facebook post by Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) on Tuesday.
Video footage released by the LNA shows the pilot, who identifies himself as 29-year-old Jimmy Reis, looking groggy and wearing a blood-soaked T-shirt and khaki jacket. In the video, he is questioned in English and says he was requested to destroy roads and bridges, adding that he was on a civilian contract with someone named Hadi, whose full name he did not know.
The Portuguese Defence Ministry has stated it cannot confirm the pilot's nationality, but emphasised that he is not a Portuguese soldier. A ministry spokeswoman told Reuters: 'For now the only thing we can say is that he is not a Portuguese soldier.' The ministry is investigating the case.
Conflicting accounts have emerged regarding the pilot's affiliation. One LNA spokesman told Turkey's Anadolu news agency that the pilot was a mercenary flying for the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). However, another spokesman told Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya that the pilot was working for the EU's Operation Sofia, which tackles people smuggling in the Mediterranean, and that the jet had been shot down 'by mistake'. The GNA and EUNAVFOR MED have not yet commented.
The incident comes amid ongoing fighting for control of Tripoli, which Haftar's forces have been attempting to capture since April. The conflict has killed at least 432 people and displaced around 55,000, according to the UN. Both sides have accused each other of using foreign mercenaries.
