Libyan Pilots Defend the Gulf From U.S. Aggression

SIRTE — Libyan fighter pilots were ordered into the air before dawn after coastal radar detected aircraft approaching the Gulf of Sidra. Commanders described the flight as a defence of sovereign waters, while American radio traffic reportedly referred to the same patch of sea as international space with unusually firm boundaries.

Two Libyan jets climbed through a low bank of cloud and flew south of the foreign formation. Ground controllers issued warnings in Arabic, English and a third version composed mainly of engine noise. No pilot acknowledged crossing the line drawn on Tripoli’s maps, although nobody agreed where that line existed in the sky.

“We did not go to their coast. We simply asked them to stop bringing their coast to ours.”

Minutes measured in kilometres

The encounter lasted less than nine minutes. Defence officials said the Libyan aircraft held formation despite electronic interference and repeated instructions to turn away. Fishermen below reported hearing thunder on a clear morning and later finding that every official account placed them in a different location.

Both sides returned safely to their bases. Tripoli declared the patrol a victory because no foreign aircraft continued south. Washington called the manoeuvre routine because its aircraft had never intended to continue south. Each statement arrived before the other side had finished writing its own.

The line remains at sea

Naval observers expect further confrontations as long as the boundary remains simultaneously clear, disputed and invisible. On the coast, radar crews resumed their watch over a calm horizon whose political weather showed no sign of improving.