In April 2019, Haftar's forces launched an operation to take control of the capital Tripoli from the GNA and unite all of Libya.[9] After fourteen months of fighting, the GNA held Tripoli and pushed the eastern forces out of the city by 4 June 2020.[2] After that, the GNA military launched a counteroffensive against Haftar's forces. The town of Sirte and the nearby Al Jufra airbase are considered essential to take control of Libya's oil ports along the Mediterranean Sea, and the airbase houses MiG-29 fighters and Su-24 bombers provided by Russia to Haftar's forces.[2] The Sirte-Jufra Operations Room was established by the GNA to oversee the Libyan Army operations in the area, with Brigadier General Ibrahim Bayt al-Mal as the commander.[4][5]