The Libyan army hopes to defeat Islamic State fighters in Benghazi with a new weapon: home-made armoured vehicles built from bits of old aircraft.
The United Nations imposed an arms embargo during the uprising against Colonel Gaddafi in 2011. With stockpiles dwindling, the military has had to improvise, converting weapons left behind from the Second World War and the Gaddafi era.
The latest creation, resembling vehicles in the Mad Max films, was built by the Zawya Martyrs’ Brigade, part of the Libyan army in the east, and paraded in liberated parts of Benghazi this week. The group claims to have helped the military to seize more than half the city from Isis in an offensive launched ten days ago.
Clad in steel ripped from disused aircraft, the hybrid vehicle has a pointed nose to break through barriers and deflect sniper bullets. It is mounted with ageing artillery and anti-aircraft guns.