The Libyan National Army, commanded by Marshall Khalifa Haftar, is currently conducting its largest military exercise in history.
The massive, two-week deployment features over 25,000 troops maneuvering across a barren, sand-whipped landscape near Derna.
Advanced military hardware, including tank formations and Russian-made Pantsir air-defense systems, dominated the sprawling desert staging grounds.
Senior commanders described these extensive maneuvers as a decisive message aimed at both their friends and regional foes.
The drills will culminate to mark the anniversary of the 2014 military campaign against local jihadist groups.
That historical offensive successfully secured Haftar’s tightly held control over the eastern and southern territories of Libya.
The 82-year-old commander and his sons will attend the high-profile display alongside foreign and domestic officials.
Human rights groups continue to accuse Haftar’s forces of carrying out arbitrary arrests and centralizing absolute power.
However, military officials vehemently reject these claims, asserting the force acts to safeguard the interests of all Libyans.
Commanders emphasized the army’s primary readiness to protect porous borders from smugglers and moving regional terrorist networks.
This grand demonstration of military might unfolds amid a backdrop of significant and shifting international diplomatic pressure.
United States presidential advisor Massad Boulos has actively promoted a closer rapprochement between rival eastern and western authorities.
Furthermore, both competing governments recently signed a rare, US-mediated agreement to unify national public spending after a decade.
A long shadow of division has plagued the oil-rich country since the turbulent 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
Whether this display signifies true national defense or further regional fragmentation remains a central question for observers.