Inside China’s secret plan to send weapons disguised as Covid aid to warlord

For Khalifa Haftar, the Libyan warlord who controls the eastern and southern parts of the country, drones have become indispensable military equipment as he continues to jockey for greater control. At the time the drones-for-oil deal was being discussed from 2018 to 2021, Haftar was attempting to wrest power from the UN-recognised government headed by prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, in a bloody war largely fought with drones. Haftar lost his bid then, and has since been working to rebuild his arsenal. “The Haftar family recognises that projecting strength serves its interests,” said Jalel Harchaoui, a North Africa expert at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London.