French elite forces would have intervened in Benghazi to 'support' the offensive launched by Haftar's army against the Islamist forces of Tripoli. To report it, citing Libyan military sources, would be the Huffington Post in the Arabic version.
What is referred to as a French 'commando', would have intervened in support of the Libyan army led by General Khalifa Haftar, loyal to the Tobruk government, during the ongoing military operations in the Benghazi area, in eastern Libya.
The detachment of unidentified 'special forces' would amount to 150 units and would be located at the Benina air base (HLLB), 19 km from Benghazi. There the French would establish a 'coordination command' for operations with the Libyan army.
In recent days the news that President Francois Hollande had authorized "unofficial military actions" in Libya, conducted by elite troops coordinated by intelligence, had leaked into the pages of the French newspaper Le Monde but it was immediately denied by the Elysée. For this reason, an investigation by the French defense has been opened.
The French Armed Forces boast as units considered 'elite' several regiments of paratroopers, framed in the Army and in the Légion étrangère, the Commando Parachutiste de l'Air, framed in the Air Force, and several regiments of raiders and marines belonging to the Marine Nationale.
The news that on Monday (22 February) the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle left the carrier of the Persian Gulf, where it was in charge of the Task Force 50, to return to operate from the Mediterranean. At the head of Task Force 50 is now the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
