"The Egyptian military for the second time in the last 48 hours intercepted a Russian military plane flying from the Khmeimim airbase to the Libyan national army airbase in Libya," the publication said, pointing out that "the reasons for the denial of the passage of Egyptian airspace by the Russian military side are still unknown, however, the last time, according to the audio recording of the radio interception, the ban on entering Egyptian airspace was associated with the lack of diplomatic permission."
Russia, which is arguably one of the largest exporters of weapons to Egypt, has also played an imperative role in the neighboring conflict in Libya, as they have backed the Libyan National Army and their leader, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
the two interceptions are not likely due to the Russian military’s support to the Libyan National Army, as Egypt itself is also a major backer of Haftar.
"According to some reports, the Russian military aircraft received a warning about the inadmissibility of entering Egyptian airspace, after which it turned around and headed back to the Khmeimim air base, similar to what it was a few days earlier," Avia.Pro added.
Over the past few weeks, the Russian military has been conducting direct flights from the Khmeimim Airbase in western Syria to the LNA’s headquarters in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
Some reports have even claimed that the Russian military has transported advanced military aircraft to Libya in order to assist the LNA in their battle against the