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LIBYA-CONFLICT-AIRPORT
Libya airport hit by drone, rocket fire: unity govt
TRIPOLI, Sept 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – An airport near the Libyan capital was
hit by a new round of rocket fire and air strikes, the UN-recognised
government said Saturday, two weeks after it was closed due to repeated
attacks.
The Government of National Accord accused forces loyal to eastern-based
strongman Khalifa Haftar of being behind Saturday’s attacks on Mitiga
airport, but did not report any casualties.
An air strike by “Emirati drones” hit the airport early Saturday morning,
followed by “Grad rockets launched by (pro-Haftar) militia”, the GNA said on
Facebook.
The former military airbase had been Tripoli’s sole functioning airport
until a rocket attack on September 1 wounded four civilians including three
pilgrims returning from Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the latest in a string of
similar incidents.
Authorities responded by diverting flights to Misrata, 200 kilometres (120
miles) to the east, until further notice.
Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army has been battling since early
April to seize the capital from pro-GNA forces.
The two sides have since become embroiled in a stalemate in the capital’s
southern outskirts.
Haftar’s forces, which accuse the GNA of using Mitiga for military
purposes, say they are targeting “Turkish drones” being launched from the
airport to attack their troops in southern Tripoli.
The GNA’s interior ministry has identified at least 11 attacks on Mitiga
since June 21, not including Saturday’s incident.
The Tripoli-based GNA called Saturday’s attack a “desperate attempt” at
revenge for losses sustained the previous day.
Haftar’s forces announced overnight that two senior commanders of a pro-LNA
armed group from the town of Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli, had been killed
in an air strike south of the capital.
Since April, the fighting around Tripoli has killed at least 1,093 people
and wounded 5,752, while some 120,000 others have been displaced, according
to the World Health Organization.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1930 hrs