The LNA fighter jet was shot down on April 14 south of the capital Tripoli - RT quoted Colonel Mohammed Gnunu, a Tripoli military spokesman, as saying. Images and videos appearing on social media showed the consequences of the incident.
Some who posted the images said the plane crashed in the southeastern suburbs of Ai Zara, while others said it crashed in the town of Qasr bin Ghasir, south of the capital and not far from Tripoli International Airport.
Photos and videos show black smoke rising in a deserted area. The news said that the pilot tried to escape the plane before the accident, but it is unclear whether this person was arrested by GNA forces or not.
The two main factions currently in power in Libya are the GNA government of Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj recognized by the United Nations and the second government in the eastern city of Tobruk elected by the Libya National Assembly and supported by the Libya National Army (LNA) led by General Khalifa Haftar.
The plane crash occurred when General Haftar met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss the situation in Libya.
This is the second military aircraft to be shot down in Libya in less than a week. Earlier, on April 10, the LNA spokesman said that General Haftar's forces had shot down a GNA military aircraft in Tripoli. Controversial reports of airstrikes from both sides near the capital have been circulating.
Last week, General Haftar's forces launched an attack against pro-GNA militias in western Libya, calling them "illegal armed groups".
The clashes led to the cancellation of a UN-backed peace conference, seeking a power sharing deal between General Haftar and the government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, which has been internationally recognized but controls less than 8% of Libya's territory.
Libya has struggled to make a democratic transition amid uncertainty and chaos since the government of the late President Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011.
