Libya, “France-Egypt secret operation against human traffickers”

France and Egypt have been carrying out a secret mission since February 2016, the ‘Operation Sirli’, which has as its theater the western desert region of Egypt, which extends from the Nile to the border with Libya. Initially born as an electronic surveillance operation in an anti-terrorism key, the mission also targeted bands of human traffickers and smugglers, with at least 19 air strikes that caused hundreds of civilian victims, many of which were probably hit by mistake. This is what the investigative website ‘Disclose’ reveals, which has had access to hundreds of top secret French intelligence documents. The documents show that the operation, launched under the presidency of Francois Hollande, was later confirmed by Emmanuel Macron, who thus strengthened the military alliance between Paris and the government of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.