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Loyal forces to Renegade Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar has fired a rocket shower at Tripoli’s only operational airport.
Saturday’s attack was the last to attack Mitiga International Airport in the Libyan capital, seat of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in the country. Haftar’s eastern forces have been trying to seize Tripoli since April last year.
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There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries after “dozens of rockets” hit the airport, Mahmoud Abdelwahed of Al Jazeera said, reporting from Tripoli.
He added that smoke was seen “coming out of Mitiga” and the buildings were on fire.
“Many families are on the street in a state of panic,” he added.
The airport has been repeatedly attacked by Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), which launched an operation in April last year to capture Tripoli from the GNA.
“Haftar forces say there is a drone launcher at that airport … Turkish drones to attack the locations of Haftar forces in the south and many other places,” said Abdelwahed.
Turkey supports the GNA and has signed a military cooperation agreement with it to assist in the fight against Haftar’s LNA, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries.
The attack came days after at least five civilians died in the LNA-attributed shelling and after the GNA launched an operation to confiscate the key. al-Watiya air base, southwest of Tripoli by Haftar’s forces.
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Tripoli: reports of a civilian plane struck at Mitiga airport (4:10) |
Setback series
Haftar fighters have suffered a series of setbacks in recent weeks in their year-long campaign to seize Tripoli, with pro-GNA forces expelling them from two key coastal cities west of the capital.
The LNA’s military defeats have coincided with Turkey’s entry into the conflict and its use of armed drones targeting Haftar’s troops and supply lines.
The GNA rejected Haftar’s unilateral call for a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for fear that he would use the truce as an opportunity to regroup.
Last month, the United Nations, the European Union and several countries called on Libya’s warring sides to lay down their arms during Ramadan.
Libya has been in crisis since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising toppled lifelong leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later assassinated.
For years, the country has been divided between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups backed by a host of foreign powers.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
