Fathi Nasri, AFP |A Libyan L-39 Albatros warplane belonging to forces of strongman Khalifa Haftar, after it made an emergency landing in the southeastern Tunisian town of Medenine on July 22, 2019

Libyan authorities say an airstrike hit a field hospital south of the capital, Tripoli, killing at least four doctors and a paramedic.

A spokesman for the health ministry of the UN-supported government of Libya, says the attack took place late Saturday in the Zawya district.

Forces based in the country's east are currently fighting for control of the capital's southern outskirts against militias allied with the Tripoli-based government.

The government blamed the airstrike on the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), led by commander Khalifa Haftar. The LNA could not immediately be reached for comment.

The government in Tripoli has weathered the initial onslaught and since then fighting has remained deadlocked on the outskirts of the city, with both sides resorting to air strikes.

"The field hospital located on the airport road (south of Tripoli) was hit by an air raid. Five doctors were killed and seven other people, including rescuers, wounded," health ministry spokesman Lamine al-Hashemi said.

The strike occurred on Saturday and was carried out by "a Haftar warplane", he said.

"It was a direct hit against the hospital which was packed with medical teams," Hashemi added.

The attack was the third to target a hospital south of the capital.

On July 16 three doctors and a paramedic were wounded in a strike on the Swani hospital near the capital, the second time it was targeted.

The World Health Organisation and rights groups have repeatedly called on both sides in the conflict to spare medical personnel, clinics and hospitals.

The fighting since April has left nearly 1,100 people dead and wounded more than 5,750, according to the WHO. More than 100,000 civilians have fled their homes.

Haftar's LNA began its offensive on Tripoli in early April, but the battle lines have changed little in recent weeks. </s> Tripoli [Libya], July 29 (ANI): At least five doctors lost their lives after an air raid by Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) targeted a hospital in the southern outskirts of Libya's capital Tripoli, an official from the UN-recognised government of the war-ravaged country said on Sunday.

"The field hospital located on the airport road [southern Tripoli] was hit by an air raid," health ministry spokesperson Lamine al-Hashemi was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

"Five doctors were killed and seven other people, including rescuers, [were] wounded" in Saturday's attack that al-Hashemi said was carried out by "a Haftar warplane".

The LNA enjoys the backing of France, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, and had launched an offensive in early April to seize control of Tripoli.

The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in the Libyan capital weathered the initial onslaught and since then fighting has remained deadlocked on the outskirts of the capital, with both sides resorting to air attacks in recent days.

No immediate confirmation or denial of responsibility from Haftar's forces was made.

Saturday's attack was the third to target a hospital south of Tripoli.

On July 16, three doctors and a paramedic were wounded in an air attack on Swani Hospital near the capital, the second time it was targeted.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and rights groups have repeatedly called on both sides in the conflict to spare medical personnel, clinics and hospitals.

The fighting since April has killed nearly 1,100 people and injured more than 5,750, according to the WHO. More than 100,000 civilians have fled their homes. (ANI) </s> The Libyan National Army has been trying to seize the capital since April, engaging in violent combat with the forces of the UN-recognized government.

An airstrike allegedly by forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar hit a field hospital near the Libyan capital of Tripoli killing five doctors and injured at least eight medical personnel late Saturday, according to the Tripoli-based and U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

"The field hospital located on the airport road [southern Tripoli] was hit by an air raid," said health ministry spokesperson Lamine al-Hashemi.

"Five doctors were killed and seven other people, including rescuers, were wounded," in the assault that al-Hashemi said was carried out by "a Haftar warplane." Haftar's forces have not yet made any confirmation or denial of responsibility.

Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) has been trying to capture Tripoli since April, engaging in violent combat with GNA forces on the capital’s outskirts. The fighting has killed local civilians and refugees, as airstrikes and skirmishes have wounded 5,000 and killed nearly 1,000 people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

From 2014 and on, Libya has had two political power centers, the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, that is having a hard time governing the capital city and some western areas, and another government in Tobruk, an eastern city which has remained under Haftar's control.

The North-African nation which has major oil reserves had been under foreign rule for centuries and gained independence in 1951. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi seized power in 1969 and ruled the country for four decades until he was ousted in 2011 by Western military intervention.

The country has since been in chaos with political forces unable to stabilize it. It also transformed in a key point of departure for migrants heading for Europe, and a source of international concern over the rise of Islamists groups. </s> CAIRO (AP) — Libyan health authorities say an airstrike hit a field hospital south of the capital, Tripoli, killing at least four doctors and a paramedic.

Malek Merset, a spokesman for the health ministry of the U.N.-supported government, says the attack took place late Saturday in the Zawya district.

Forces based in the country's east are currently fighting for control of the capital's southern outskirts against militias allied with the Tripoli-based government.

Health authorities did not say which side was behind the airstrike, which wounded eight health workers. </s> An airstrike that hit a field hospital south of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, has killed at least four doctors and a paramedic, the country’s health authorities said on Sunday.

Malek Merset, a spokesman for the health ministry of the United Nations-backed government, said the attack took place late Saturday in the Zawya District.

Forces based in the country’s east are fighting for control of the capital’s southern outskirts against militias allied with the Tripoli-based government.

The health authorities did not say which side was behind the airstrike, which also wounded at least eight health workers. But the Tripoli-based government blamed the airstrike on the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter. The group could not immediately be reached for comment. </s> Libyan health authorities say an airstrike hit a field hospital south of the capital, Tripoli, killing at least four doctors and a paramedic.

Malek Merset, a spokesman for the health ministry of the U.N.-supported government, says the attack took place late Saturday in the Zawya district.

 

 Forces based in the country's east are currently fighting for control of the capital's southern outskirts against militias allied with the Tripoli-based government.

 

 Health authorities did not say which side was behind the airstrike, which wounded eight health workers.

 

 The Tripoli-based government blamed the airstrike on the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by commander Khalifa Hifter. The LNA could not immediately be reached for comment.

 

 Hifter's LNA began its offensive on Tripoli in early April. In past weeks, the battle lines have changed little. </s> An airstrike on a field hospital on the outskirts of Tripoli killed five doctors, the UN-backed government said.

The attack on the Libyan capital on Saturday is believed to have been carried out by forces loyal to Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who controls large parts of the east of the country and has been battling to take Tripoli since April.

Marshal Haftar’s forces, the Libyan National Army (LNA), have not yet commented on the attack, which also wounded eight people, including rescue workers. The strike hit the Airport Road field hospital south of the capital. Malik Marseet, a spokesman for the hospital, said there was pandemonium after the airstrike. It is the third medical facility to be targeted in the latest round of fighting. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption The government says a warplane belonging to rogue general Khalifa Hafta carried out the attack

An air strike has killed five doctors in a hospital in the southern outskirts of Libya's capital Tripoli, an official from the UN-backed government says.

A warplane belonging to Khalifa Hafta, the rogue general who commands the Libyan National Army, carried out the attack, the health ministry spokesman added.

The LNA has not commented.

Libya has been roiled in conflict since the fall of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Fighting between the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, and Mr Haftar's LNA, has claimed 1,100 lives since April, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The fighting has remained deadlocked on the outskirts of the capital, with both sides resorting to air strikes, news agency AFP reports.

Saturday's bombing also wounded seven people, including some rescuers, Lamine al-Hashem, the spokesman from the health ministry, said.

"It was a direct hit against the field hospital which was packed with medical teams," Mr Hashemi added.

The attack was the third to target a hospital in the capital's south, AFP reports.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Libya crisis: The fight for Tripoli explained from the frontline

African migrants who use Libya as a key crossing point to Europe have also been caught up in the fighting.

The GNA blamed the LNA for last month's air strike on a detention centre that killed at least 50 migrants.

However, the LNA said it had attacked a pro-government camp near the centre and pro-government forces had fired shells in response, hitting the migrant centre by accident.

The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said the attack could constitute a war crime.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Inside a Libyan migrant detention camp

Who controls Libya?

Only Libya's myriad armed militias really hold sway - nominally backing two centres of political power in the east and west with parallel institutions.

Tripoli administration, the internationally recognised government, known as the Government of National Accord (GNA)

This is under the leadership of Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, an engineer by profession. He arrived in Tripoli in March 2016, four months after a UN-brokered deal to form a unity government, to set up his administration. Over the last three years he has worked to gain the support of the various militias and politicians, but he has little real power over the whole country or the forces ostensibly under his control.

Tobruk administration, includes the parliament elected in 2014 after disputed elections

When those who held power in Tripoli refused to give it up in 2014, the newly elected MPs moved to the port of Tobruk, 1,000km (620 miles) away, along with the old government. In 2015 some of these MPs backed the UN deal for a unity government, but the parliament has since refused to recognise it and has been blocking efforts to organise fresh elections because it wants rogue General Khalifa Haftar, who leads a powerful force called the Libyan National Army (LNA), to be guaranteed a senior role in any new set-up. </s> An air strike has killed five doctors in a hospital in the southern outskirts of Libya's capital...
An airstrike kills five doctors in a hospital in the southern outskirts of Libya's capital Tripoli.