BENGHAZI, Libya – Clashes between rival Libyan forces for control of Tripoli escalated on Monday as the death toll from days of fighting rose to at least 51, including both combatants and civilians, and the city's only functioning airport said it was hit by an airstrike.

The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Hifter who last week launched the push on Tripoli, acknowledged striking the Mitiga airport, barely five miles east of the city center.

Hifter's forces have clashed with rival militias which support the U.N.-backed government that controls Tripoli and the western part of the country. The escalation has threatened to plunge the fractured North African nation deeper into chaos and ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The U.N. said the latest fighting has displaced some 3,400 people and blocked emergency services from reaching casualties and civilians.

The World Health Organization said two doctors were killed trying to "evacuate wounded patients from conflict areas."

Ibrahim Fadel, an official at Mitiga, said no casualties were reported in the airport attack. Flights were suspended for several hours but the airport reopened later Monday and said it would resume operations going forward from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m.

The official Facebook page of Mitiga, run by the U.N.-backed government, said a fighter jet attacked the facility but gave no other details. A video circulated online shows a fighter jet firing and apparently targeting the airport, formerly a military base.

Maj. Gen. Mohamed al-Manfour of Hifter's Libyan National Army, told the Libyan Address newspaper they bombed targets at Mitiga after receiving information that the U.N.-backed government forces were preparing to target them.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Monday that "unfortunately" the United Nations received "no positive news" in response to its urgent appeal for a truce in Tripoli. A cease-fire is imperative to ensure that civilians trapped in fighting around the Libyan capital can escape to safer areas and that the wounded can be evacuated, he said.

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Libya, Maria do Valle Ribeiro, said the clashes have also worsened the situation for migrants held in detention centers in Tripoli, she warned.

Meanwhile, fighting was underway Monday at Tripoli's former international airport, some 24 kilometers (15 miles) south of the city. That airport was closed in 2014 after fighting destroyed much of it.

Ahmed Musbah, a resident who lives near the area, said he could hear shooting coming from the direction of the town of Bin Ghashir, to the south. "The sound of fighting seems to be closing in," he said.

Hifter's forces said Saturday they had seized the old airport. However, militias supporting the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli claimed Monday they recaptured the facility.

The Health Ministry of the Tripoli-based government said at least 27 people, including civilians, were killed and at least 27 wounded since the start of Hifter's offensive against the capital. The media office of Hifter's army said 22 of their troops had been killed since Thursday.

It was not immediately clear when the two doctors whose deaths were reported by the WHO were killed in Tripoli.

Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO's director for the eastern Mediterranean, said that targeting of medical staff was "unacceptable" and "worsens the situation for civilians caught up in conflict."

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called on the warring sides to stop fighting and start talking.

Speaking at the EU's foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg, Mogherini said all sides in the recent surge in fighting should "go back to the negotiating table under the auspices of the U.N."

Also Monday, U.N. envoy Ghassan Salame said he met with Fayez Sarraj, head of the government in Tripoli, to discuss how the U.N. mission "can assist at this critical and difficult juncture."

Salame later Monday condemned the attack on Mitiga, saying it was "a serious violation of international humanitarian law."

He has asked for "an immediate halt to any further air operations" in order to bring the country back from the brink of what he called "the effective start of a civil war."

Salame has said he is still planning for the April 14-16 National Conference aimed at bringing all Libyan factions together to chart a course to elections.

"We need all the parties involved in this conflict to attend," Dujarric said.

Since Gahdafi's ouster, Libya has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.

In Cairo, Agila Saleh, head of Libya's east-based parliament, backed Hifter's offensive and the Libya National Army, saying that militias have been "hijacking" the capital.

"The Libyan army moved towards Tripoli with one goal, to free Tripoli from armed militias," he said after meeting with the Arab League's secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

On Sunday, Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of U.S. Africa Command said the United States has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from Libya due to "security conditions on the ground."

A small contingent of American troops has been in Libya in recent years, helping local forces combat the Islamic State group and al-Qaida militants, as well as protecting diplomatic facilities.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.</s>Clashes between rival Libyan forces for control of Tripoli have escalated as the death toll from the fighting rose to at least 51 and the city’s only functioning airport said it was hit by an air strike.

The escalation over Tripoli has threatened to plunge Libya deeper into chaos and ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The UN said the latest fighting, which began on Thursday, has so far displaced 2,800 people.

The World Health Organisation said two doctors were killed trying to “evacuate wounded patients from conflict areas”.

No casualties were reported in the air strike on Mitiga airport, about five miles east of Tripoli.

Ibrahim Fadel, an airport official, said all flights from and to the airport were suspended until further notice.

The fighting for Tripoli erupted when the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Hifter, began an offensive against the capital, clashing with rival militias that support the UN-backed government in control of the city and the western part of the country.

The official Facebook page of Mitiga, which is run by the UN-backed government, said a fighter jet attacked the facility but gave no other details.

A video circulated online shows a fighter jet firing and apparently targeting the airport, formerly a military base.

Major General Mohamed al-Manfour, of the Libyan National Army’s air force, told the Libyan Address newspaper they bombed targets at Mitiga airport after receiving information that the UN-backed government forces were preparing to target them.

The UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Libya, Maria do Valle Ribeiro, said the clashes around the Libyan capital have prevented emergency services from reaching casualties and civilians, and have damaged electricity lines.

The increased violence is also worsening the situation for migrants held in detention centres in the Libyan capital, she warned.

Meanwhile, fighting was under way at Tripoli’s former international airport, 15 miles south of Tripoli, that was closed in 2014 after fighting destroyed much of it.

Ahmed Musbah, a resident who lives near the area, said he could hear shooting coming from the direction of the town of Bin Ghashir, to the south.

“The sound of fighting seems to be closing in,” he said.

The Libyan National Army, led by Hifter, said on Saturday it seized the area.

However, the militias supporting the UN-backed government in Tripoli claimed on Monday they recaptured the facility.

The Health Ministry of the Tripoli-based government said at least 27 people, including civilians, were killed and at least 27 wounded since Thursday, when Hifter forces began their offensive against the capital.

The media office of Hifter’s army said 22 of their troops had been killed since the offensive began.

It was not immediately clear when the two doctors were killed.

Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO’s director for the eastern Mediterranean, said that targeting of medical staff was “unacceptable” and “worsens the situation for civilians caught up in conflict”.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called on the warring sides to stop fighting and start talking.

Speaking at the EU’s foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg, Ms Mogherini said all sides in the recent surge in fighting should “go back to the negotiating table under the auspices of the UN”.

UN envoy Ghassan Salame said he met Fayez Sarraj, head of the government in Tripoli, to discuss how the UN mission “can assist at this critical and difficult juncture”.

Since Gaddafi’s ousting, Libya has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.

In Cairo, Agila Saleh, head of Libya’s east-based parliament, backed Hifter’s offensive and the Libya National Army, saying that militias have been “hijacking” the capital.

“The Libyan army moved towards Tripoli with one goal, to free Tripoli from armed militias,” he said after meeting with the Arab League’s secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

On Sunday, Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser, the head of US Africa Command, said the United States has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from Libya due to “security conditions on the ground”.

A small contingent of American troops has been in Libya in recent years, helping local forces combat Islamic State and al Qaida militants, as well as protecting diplomatic facilities.</s>Fighter jets of UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) on Monday hit an airbase under the control of east-Libya based commander Khalifa Haftar, according to Libya's Al Ahrar TV.

Al-Watiyah, an airbase 130 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of Tripoli, is the only airbase that Haftar, who commands forces loyal to Libya’s eastern government, captured near Libya’s capital. Haftar's forces used the airbase to launch airstrikes on rival Tripoli-based government forces. His Libyan National Army (LNA) has yet to make a statement on the airstrikes.

On Thursday, Haftar launched a military campaign to recapture Tripoli from the UN-backed government. A day later, he announced the capture of the former Tripoli International Airport on the outskirts of the capital. The move was part of an operation called “Flood of Dignity” and the Libyan National Army (LNA) would not stop until the mission was over, spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari said at a press conference.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011 when a NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power. Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power: one in the eastern city of Al-Bayda, to which Haftar is linked, and another in Tripoli.</s>“The Civil Aviation Authority ordered to open the airspace over Mitiga and resume night flights from 7:00 p.m. [17:00 GMT] up to 7:00 a.m. until further notice”, the body said on its Facebook page.

On Monday, the Libyan Government of National Accord's (GNA) accused the LNA of striking the Mitiga airport, which is located about eight kilometers (5 miles) east of Tripoli's city center, saying that the attack threatened the lives of civilians and the safety of flights.

The airport was closed following the incident.

On Thursday, Haftar ordered an offensive to retake Tripoli from the GNA-backed forces.

The LNA has already recaptured a number of settlements on its way to the capital, including the Tripoli International Airport, located around 20 miles away from the capital. The forces loyal to the GNA announced a counteroffensive on Sunday, dubbed Volcano of Rage, to repel the National Army.

READ MORE: Alleged VIDEO of Libyan National Army Airstrike On Tripoli Released Online</s>"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the military escalation and ongoing fighting in and around Tripoli, including the aerial attack today by a Libyan National Army (LNA) aircraft against Mitiga airport. The Secretary-General urges the immediate halt of all military operations in order to de-escalate the situation and prevent an all-out conflict," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement released late Monday.

Guterres reiterated his previous comments, saying that there could be no military solution to the crisis in the North African country, and called for all parties to the conflict to engage in dialogue to reach a political solution.

"The Secretary-General further reminds all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law to ensure the safety of all civilians. All Libyans deserve peace, security, prosperity and respect for human rights," the statement added.

Mitiga airport is the only functional in the Libyan capital because Tripoli International Airport has been closed intermittently since 2011 due to heavy damage.

In the meantime, the number of displaced people fleeing from the fighting in Tripoli reached 3,400, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesman Russell Geekie told Sputnik on Monday.</s>Your opinions matter to us times;

Feedback 0 / 5</s>Fighter jets of UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) on Monday hit an airbase under the control of east-Libya based commander Khalifa Haftar, according to Libya's Al Ahrar TV.

Al-Watiyah, an airbase 130 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of Tripoli, is the only airbase that Haftar, who commands forces loyal to Libya’s eastern government, captured near Libya’s capital.

Haftar's forces used the airbase to launch airstrikes on rival Tripoli-based government forces.

His Libyan National Army (LNA) has yet to make a statement on the airstrikes.

On Thursday, Haftar launched a military campaign to recapture Tripoli from the UN-backed government. A day later, he announced the capture of the former Tripoli International Airport on the outskirts of the capital.

The move was part of an operation called “Flood of Dignity” and the Libyan National Army (LNA) would not stop until the mission was over, spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari said at a press conference.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power: one in the eastern city of Al-Bayda, to which Haftar is linked, and another in Tripoli.

This article has been adapted from its original source.</s>BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Forces loyal to rival Libyan army commander Khalifa Hifter said Saturday they seized control of the main airport in Libya’s capital Tripoli, two days after Hifter ordered his forces to seize…

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Forces loyal to rival Libyan army commander Khalifa Hifter said Saturday they seized control of the main airport in Libya’s capital Tripoli, two days after Hifter ordered his forces to seize the seat of Libya’s U.N.-backed government.

Hifter’s media office said in a post online that they took full control of the Tripoli international airport and were working to secure the facility. They posted photos of troops apparently inside the airport, saying “we are standing at the heart of the Tripoli international airport.”

Hifter’s offensive on Tripoli could plunge the oil-rich country into another spasm of violence, possibly the worst since the 2011 civil war that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country is governed by rival authorities: The internationally backed government in Tripoli and the government in the east, which Hifter is aligned with. Each is backed by an array of militias.

Fayez Sarraj, chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, said his government had offered concessions to Hifter “to avoid bloodshed and to end divisions” and was surprised by Hifter’s order to take the capital.

“We were stabbed in the back,” he said Saturday in televised comments, adding that his forces would confront Hifter’s troops with “force and determination.”

The Tripoli airport has not been functional since fighting in 2014 destroyed much of the facility.

The media office said that troops also captured the area of Wadi el-Rabeia, south of Tripoli, amid clashed with militias loyal to Sarraj.

Ahmed al-Mesmari, spokesman for the self-styled Libyan National Army led by Hifter, said 14 troops had been killed since Hifter declared the offensive. He said rival militias launched four airstrikes Saturday targeting Hifter’s position in the town of al-Aziziya, but that no casualties had been reported.

Hifter announced Thursday he was deploying his forces toward Tripoli, sparking fears that the tensions could be escalating out of control as militias from the western cities of Zawiya and Misarata said that they have mobilized to confront Hifter.

He also put at risk upcoming peace talks between Libyan rivals brokered by the U.N. aimed at drawing a roadmap for new elections.

The U.N. Security Council on Saturday called on Hifter forces to halt all military movements and urged all forces in Libya “to de-escalate and halt military activity.”

The U.N. envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, said the UN is determined to hold the planned national conference later this month to set time for possible elections.

Speaking at a news conference in Tripoli, he said he was striving to prevent the new crisis from getting out of control. “We have worked for one year for this national conference, we won’t give up this political work quickly,” he said.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>The only functioning airport in the Libyan capital of Tripoli has been hit in an air raid, local TV and several agencies report, citing eyewitnesses. Heavy fighting broke out between the forces of the country's two governments.Photos surfacing on social media show black smoke billowing over the airport's runway, although no major damage can be seen. The people, who posted the photos, claimed there were some explosions, which they say were a result of the bombing raid. This information cannot be independently verified, though.The news comes amid ongoing clashes between the forces loyal to the Tripoli-based UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and Haftar's LNA, which supports a rival government in the Libyan eastern city of Tobruk.Earlier Haftar vowed to seize Tripoli and "liberate" it from those he called "militias and terrorists." In response, the UN-backed government launched a counteroffensive dubbed 'Volcano of Rage' to stop Haftar's approaching troops.Later, some reports suggested that both sides engaged air forces to support their troops. On Sunday, local media reported on continued "fierce fighting" around Tripoli International Airport while providing conflicting information on which side controls the area.Libya has been devastated by a prolonged civil war, lasting since NATO's 'humanitarian' intervention and airstrike campaign in 2011, which decimated the national armed forces and eventually helped armed militants to murder Libya's long-time ruler, Muammar Gaddafi.Now, most of the country is controlled by Haftar's forces. So far, at least 25 people have allegedly been killed since clashes broke out on the outskirts of Tripoli.</s>Rami Musa and Samy Magdy, The Associated Press 

 



BENGHAZI, Libya -- Clashes between rival Libyan forces for control of Tripoli escalated on Monday as the death toll from days of fighting rose to at least 51, including both combatants and civilians, and the city's only functioning airport said it was hit by an airstrike.

The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Hifter who last week launched the push on Tripoli, acknowledged striking the Mitiga airport, barely 8 kilometres east of the city centre.

Hifter's forces have clashed with rival militias which support the UN-backed government that controls Tripoli and the western part of the country. The escalation has threatened to plunge the fractured North African nation deeper into chaos and ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The UN said the latest fighting has displaced some 3,400 people and blocked emergency services from reaching casualties and civilians.

The World Health Organization said two doctors were killed trying to "evacuate wounded patients from conflict areas."

Ibrahim Fadel, an official at Mitiga, said no casualties were reported in the airport attack. Flights were suspended for several hours but the airport reopened later Monday and said it would resume operations going forward from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m.

The official Facebook page of Mitiga, run by the UN-backed government, said a fighter jet attacked the facility but gave no other details. A video circulated online shows a fighter jet firing and apparently targeting the airport, formerly a military base.

Maj. Gen. Mohamed al-Manfour of Hifter's Libyan National Army, told the Libyan Address newspaper they bombed targets at Mitiga after receiving information that the U.N.-backed government forces were preparing to target them.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Monday that "unfortunately" the United Nations received "no positive news" in response to its urgent appeal for a truce in Tripoli. A cease-fire is imperative to ensure that civilians trapped in fighting around the Libyan capital can escape to safer areas and that the wounded can be evacuated, he said.

The UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Libya, Maria do Valle Ribeiro, said the clashes have also worsened the situation for migrants held in detention centres in Tripoli, she warned.

Meanwhile, fighting was underway Monday at Tripoli's former international airport, some 24 kilometres south of the city. That airport was closed in 2014 after fighting destroyed much of it.

Ahmed Musbah, a resident who lives near the area, said he could hear shooting coming from the direction of the town of Bin Ghashir, to the south. "The sound of fighting seems to be closing in," he said.

Hifter's forces said Saturday they had seized the old airport. However, militias supporting the UN-backed government in Tripoli claimed Monday they recaptured the facility.

The Health Ministry of the Tripoli-based government said at least 27 people, including civilians, were killed and at least 27 wounded since the start of Hifter's offensive against the capital. The media office of Hifter's army said 22 of their troops had been killed since Thursday.

It was not immediately clear when the two doctors whose deaths were reported by the WHO were killed in Tripoli.

Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO's director for the eastern Mediterranean, said that targeting of medical staff was "unacceptable" and "worsens the situation for civilians caught up in conflict."

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called on the warring sides to stop fighting and start talking.

Speaking at the EU's foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg, Mogherini said all sides in the recent surge in fighting should "go back to the negotiating table under the auspices of the UN."

Also Monday, UN envoy Ghassan Salame said he met with Fayez Sarraj, head of the government in Tripoli, to discuss how the UN mission "can assist at this critical and difficult juncture."

Salame later Monday condemned the attack on Mitiga, saying it was "a serious violation of international humanitarian law."

He has asked for "an immediate halt to any further air operations" in order to bring the country back from the brink of what he called "the effective start of a civil war."

Salame has said he is still planning for the April 14-16 National Conference aimed at bringing all Libyan factions together to chart a course to elections.

"We need all the parties involved in this conflict to attend," Dujarric said.

Since Gahdafi's ouster, Libya has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.

In Cairo, Agila Saleh, head of Libya's east-based parliament, backed Hifter's offensive and the Libya National Army, saying that militias have been "hijacking" the capital.

"The Libyan army moved towards Tripoli with one goal, to free Tripoli from armed militias," he said after meeting with the Arab League's secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

On Sunday, Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of U.S. Africa Command said the United States has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from Libya due to "security conditions on the ground."

A small contingent of American troops has been in Libya in recent years, helping local forces combat the Islamic State group and al-Qaida militants, as well as protecting diplomatic facilities.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord retake Tripoli International Airport from the Libyan National Army.