Javelin missiles found in a captured Libyan National Army base last month were bought by the French government from the United States, Paris said on Wednesday.
The French military said the projectiles were unusable and never meant for sale or transfer to any party in the Libyan conflict.
The missiles were intended for the “self-protection of a French military unit deployed to carry out counterterrorism operations,” the Army Ministry said in a statement.
“Damaged and unusable, the armaments were being temporarily stocked at a depot ahead of their destruction,” the ministry said.
The New York Times reported that the cache of four Javelin anti-tank missiles were found by militias fighting with the Libyan government in Tripoli against the Libyan National Army, which launched an offensive to capture the capital in April.
The militias reportedly found the Javelin missiles in a camp near Gharyan, in the mountains 80 kilometres south of Tripoli, after they recaptured the former key supply route for the LNA.
In April, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on Tripoli, vowing to cleanse the capital of the powerful militias that prop up the UN-backed government. The LNA already controls much of Libya’s east and south.
Field Marshal Haftar, who in recent years has battled extremists and other militias across eastern Libya, says he is determined to restore stability to the country.
He is increasingly seen by his allies, which include Russia and Egypt, as a bulwark against extremists in Libya who gained a foothold after the 2011 uprising that ousted Muammar Qaddafi.
The UN-recognised government in Tripoli headed by Fayez Al Sarraj controls a much smaller amount of territory in the east and draws support from Turkey, Qatar and Italy, analysts say.
In May, it posted pictures showing the arrival of Turkish BMC Kirpi armoured vehicles at Tripoli port.
France's role in the conflict under President Emmanuel Macron has caused tensions.
Mr Macron threw himself into diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict after his elections in May 2017, seeing the instability across the Mediterranean as a major security worry and a source of migration to Europe.
French special forces and members of its DGSE intelligence service are known to be operating in Libya, which descended into chaos after a 2011 uprising and Nato-backed military campaign
France has publicly called for a UN arms embargo to be enforced, while an EU naval mission off the Libyan coast called Operation Sophia is trying to stop the flow of foreign weapons into the conflict.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
