 Before the war began, Libyan People's Air Force had between 18,000 and 22,000 personnel and 374 aircraft and helicopters—however, most of these aircraft were not flyable, and the air force in general was in a very poor state when the war began.During the Libyan Civil War, Libyan People's Air Force warplanes and attack helicopters launched repeated airstrikes on protesters, reportedly targeting a funeral procession and a group of protesters trying to reach an army base.The human rights researcher Ahmed Elgazir had reported, that the Libyan News Centre (LNC) received a satellite phone call from an unnamed woman who was "witnessing the massacre in progress".