Libya’s NTC in process of recovering defected fighter jets

“We are in the process of recovering these aircraft and signing agreements for the maintenance of other aircraft in Libya which had not been used since the start of the revolution,” said Libya’s interim deputy defence minister Fawzi Abu-Katif, in an interview with pro-NTC television ‘Al-Hurra TV’ in Benghazi.

He said Libya also had a problem of illegal migration to deal with and that it expects to continue receiving assistance from Italy on this matter  to receive would receive help from Italy, with whom it had an agreement on this issue, in the form of weaponry.

Jalal Al-Dughayli, the interim defence minister said Libya needed help from its friends in the world until it reached stability, but that Libyans would not allow foreign forces' presence on their soil.

He said that some presence would be accepted in the form of experts who were needed to help with the rebuilding of Libyan institutions.

The time needed to rebuild a professional army was “substantial”, especially because of the damage cause by Col. Gaddafi’s regime which left an army full of very high ranking officers.

He said the army needed to be reorganised, and needed young blood introduced.

According to the defence minister, it was expected to take around three to six months to prepare the border forces and forces tasked with protecting oil and other vital installations, however, the national army as a whole, he added, would need closer to four years before it was ready.