Fighting for control of the Libyan capital escalated dramatically on Monday when rebel forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar carried out an airstrike on city's only operating airport.

The attack came amid reports that the internationally recognised government of National Accord led by Fayyez al-Sarraj had begun conscripting migrants held in detention centres to fight against Gen Haftar's troops.

At least one jet was seen firing rockets at the Mitiga airport in northern Tripoli on Monday afternoon. The airport said it would be closed for the foreseeable future.

No casualties were reported. At least 2,800 people have been displaced since Gen Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army launched an assault on Tripoli last week.

The LNA said on Monday that 19 of its soldiers had been killed in recent days. The Tripoli based health ministry, on the government side, said at least 25 people including fighters and civilians had been killed and 80 wounded in fighting to the south of the capital.

The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations' health agency, said two doctors had been killed while treating civilians and trying to evacuate patients from combat zones in the city.

Ahmed Al Mandhari, the WHO's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, said in a statement Monday that the targeting of doctors was "unacceptable."

Gen Haftar announced his assault on Thursday, citing the need to clear the city of "terrorists".

Tracking progress on the ground is difficult partly because both sides are made up of loose alliances of militia groups rather than professional armies. But despite clashes in the southern suburbs, the LNA advance appears to have made little progress.

Residents said LNA troops retreated from the former international airport, 15 miles south of the city centre, on Monday.

Analysts say Gen Haftar’s assault has compelled the disparate militia groups who control western Libya to band together, presenting a harder target than he may have anticipated.

“He created that alliance by going in to early, too strong,” said Jalel Harchaoui, a research fellow at the Clingdendael Institute, a think tank.

“It prompted potential opponents who were considering siding with Haftar to do an about face and fight him.”

Mr Harchaoui warned that the international community appeared to have little if any diplomatic leverage to reign in the fighting and that the situation could “worsen dramatically.”

“If the airstrikes continue escalating, you could see the two camps committed in a very blind manner to saving face, and that means a lot of destruction,” he said.

Meanwhile reports emerged that the internationally recognised government is offering migrants held in detention centres their freedom in exchange for military service.

Thousands of asylum seekers, many of them sub-Saharan Africans, are stuck in detention centres along the coast around Tripoli, hoping to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Many did national service in their own countries. “Reports of some Sudanese being released, given military uniforms and told that they may have to fight,” Vincent Cochetel, special envoy of the UNHCR for the central Mediterranean, wrote on Twitter. He also said that the situation for asylum seekers in Libya is becoming increasingly desperate as fighting escalates between the two sides. Vehicles and militants, reportedly from the Misrata militia, gather to join Tripoli forces, in Tripoli “Unverifiable reports received suggesting that no more food is reaching some detention centres in Libya, where refugees and militants are kept arbitrarily,” Mr Cochetel said. Medicins San Frontieres, an NGO, said the fighting has left refugees and migrants in detention centres "exceptionally vulnerable." "The Ain Zara detention centre is now in an area of active fighting, with more than 600 vulnerable people trapped inside, including women and children. In another detention centre, reports suggest that some people are being conscripted to work for armed groups," the group said in a statement. The European Union's foreign policy chief called on all sides to stop fighting and start talking. Speaking at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Federica Mogherini said all sides should "go back to the negotiating table under the auspices of the UN and make sure that the Libyan people get what they really want, which is peace and stability for their country." Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, said Britain was engaging “all partners” to send the message that there is “no military solution” to the crisis. Earlier he said there was “no justification” for the LNA assault.</s>TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan authorities on Monday closed the only functioning airport in the capital Tripoli after an air strike, an airport security official said.

Passengers could be seen leaving the terminal, a Reuters correspondent at Matiga airport said.</s>TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya, April 8 (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan forces sought to reach the centre of Tripoli on Monday after their easy advance through desert hit a trickier urban phase, with deaths and displacements mounting and the West aghast at the threat to its peace plan.

Renewed civil war in Libya, splintered into areas of factional control since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. threatens to disrupt oil and gas supplies, trigger more migration to Europe, and allow Islamist militants to exploit the chaos.

The eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of Khalifa Haftar, a former officer in Gaddafi's army, said 19 of their soldiers had died in recent days as they closed in on the internationally recognised government in Tripoli.

The United Nations said 2,800 people were displaced by clashes and many more could flee, though some were trapped.

The LNA has made air strikes on the south of the city as it seeks to advance into the centre from the disused airport.

But the Tripoli government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, which reported 11 deaths without specifying on which side, has armed groups arriving from nearby Misrata to block the LNA.

Al-Serraj, 59, who comes from a wealthy business family, has run the Tripoli government since 2016 as part of a U.N.-brokered deal boycotted by Haftar.

The LNA, allied with a parallel eastern administration based in Benghazi, took the oil-rich south of Libya earlier this year before its surprisingly fast push towards the coastal capital.

While that advance was straightforward through mostly sparsely populated areas, taking Tripoli is a far bigger challenge.

U.S. AND U.N. APPEAL FOR TRUCE

The violence has thrown into doubt a U.N. plan for an April 14-16 conference to plan elections as a way out of the anarchy since the Western-backed toppling of Gaddafi eight years ago.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the latest international appeal for talks to end the fighting.

"We have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar's forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital," he said.

A contingent of U.S. forces evacuated at the weekend.

The U.N. mission to Libya called on Sunday for a truce for two hours in southern Tripoli to evacuate civilians and wounded, but it did not appear to have been heeded.

Haftar casts himself as a foe of extremism but is viewed by opponents as a new dictator in the mould of Gaddafi, whose four-decade rule saw torture, disappearances and assassinations.

Haftar enjoys the backing of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which see him as a bulwark against Islamists and have supported him militarily, according to U.N. reports.

Forces with the Tripoli government have announced an operation to defence the capital called "Volcano of Anger".

Allied groups from Misrata down the coast have been moving pickup trucks fitted with machine guns into Tripoli.

The LNA says it has 85,000 men but this includes soldiers paid by the central government that it hopes to inherit. Its elite force, Saiqa (Lightning), numbers some 3,500, while Haftar's sons also have well-equipped troops, LNA sources say.

Since NATO-backed rebels ousted Gaddafi, Libya has been a transit point for hundreds of thousands of migrants trekking across the Sahara in hope of reaching Europe across the sea.</s>TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan forces carried out air strikes on the southern part of Tripoli on Sunday and made progress towards the city centre, residents said, escalating an operation to take the capital as the United Nations failed to achieve a truce.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) force of Khalifa Haftar, which backs a parallel administration in the east, last week launched an advance on Tripoli in the west, home to the internationally recognised government.

The offensive intensifies a power struggle that has fractured the oil and gas producer since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

The LNA reached the southern outskirts of the capital on Friday and says it took the former international airport, though the Tripoli military officials deny this.

At least one warplane carried out an air strike in the area, a resident said.

“The air force took part for the first time in the military operations,” said LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari. “It conducted a very successful operation to secure the airport road (to city centre),” he added.

The LNA moved up north from on the road from former airport in the district of Khalat Furgan, coming some 11 km from the city centre, a resident said, adding he could see the troops as forces loyal to the Tripoli government withdrew.

The U.N. mission to Libya (UNSMIL) called on Sunday for a truce for two hours in southern Tripoli to evacuate civilians and wounded, it said in a statement without giving details.

But the true was not observed by evening, one U.N. official said.

In another sign of the situation worsening on the ground, a contingent of U.S. forces supporting the U.S. Africa Command evacuated Libya for security reasons, a U.S. statement said. It gave no details.

Forces allied to the Tripoli government meanwhile announced their own operation called “Volcano of Anger” to defend the capital, a spokesman said, without giving details.

The offensive has taken the United Nations by surprise, undermining plans to find agreement on a road map for elections to resolve the protracted instability in Libya.

Lawless since Gaddafi was toppled by rebels backed by NATO air strikes, Libya has become the transit point hundreds of thousands of migrants trekking across the Sahara with the objective of reaching Europe across the Mediterranean Sea.

Haftar, 75, who casts himself as a foe of Islamist extremism but is viewed by opponents as a new dictator in the mould of Gaddafi, enjoys the backing of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which see him as a bulwark against Islamists and have supported him militarily, according to U.N. reports.

The UAE, however, has joined Western countries in expressing its deep concern about the fighting.

“No justification for LNA move on Tripoli,” UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt tweeted, adding he was watching the situation very closely and would discuss the “next steps” with the European Union on Monday.

In the past, Haftar has struck deals with armed factions outside Tripoli to advance his forces. But gaining control of Tripoli - the ultimate prize for Haftar’s eastern parallel government - would be far more complicated.

Armed groups allied to the Tripoli government have moved more machinegun-mounted pickup trucks to defend Tripoli from Misrata down the coast. Misrata is known for a spirit of resisting “old regime” figures, developed during 2011 when pro-Gaddafi forces besieged it for three months.</s>Libya is on the spotlight once again. Thousands are fleeing clashes in the capital Tripoli following violence between the country’s two rival armed political factions.

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar launched last week on Thursday an offensive to the west, aiming to take control of Tripoli, from the UN-backed government.

Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on the other hand accuses him of attempting to carry out a coup. On Monday, Haftar’s forces launched an airstrike on the Mitiga airport, the capital’s only functioning airport, which the UN has strongly condemned.

No casualties have been reported though operations at the airport have been suspended.</s>Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar on Monday relaunched an offensive against Tripoli's airports.

Warplanes attacked the former international airport to the south of the coastal capital and the Mitiga airport to the east of the city.</s>Rebel forces under Gen Khalifa Haftar have advanced from the east with the aim of taking Tripoli.

Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj has accused him of attempting a coup and says rebels will be met with force.</s>TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan forces sought to reach the center of Tripoli on Monday after their easy advance through desert hit a trickier urban phase, with deaths and displacements mounting and the West aghast at the threat to its peace plan.

Renewed civil war in Libya, splintered into areas of factional control since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. threatens to disrupt oil and gas supplies, trigger more migration to Europe, and allow Islamist militants to exploit the chaos.

The eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of Khalifa Haftar, a former officer in Gaddafi’s army, said 19 of their soldiers had died in recent days as they closed in on the internationally recognized government in Tripoli.

The United Nations said 2,800 people were displaced by clashes and many more could flee, though some were trapped.

The LNA has made air strikes on the south of the city as it seeks to advance into the center from the disused airport.

But the Tripoli government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, which reported 11 deaths without specifying on which side, has armed groups arriving from nearby Misrata to block the LNA.

Al-Serraj, 59, who comes from a wealthy business family, has run the Tripoli government since 2016 as part of a U.N.-brokered deal boycotted by Haftar.

The LNA, allied with a parallel eastern administration based in Benghazi, took the oil-rich south of Libya earlier this year before its surprisingly fast push towards the coastal capital.

While that advance was straightforward through mostly sparsely populated areas, taking Tripoli is a far bigger challenge.

U.S. AND U.N. APPEAL FOR TRUCE

The violence has thrown into doubt a U.N. plan for an April 14-16 conference to plan elections as a way out of the anarchy since the Western-backed toppling of Gaddafi eight years ago.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the latest international appeal for talks to end the fighting.

“We have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital,” he said.

A contingent of U.S. forces evacuated at the weekend.

The U.N. mission to Libya called on Sunday for a truce for two hours in southern Tripoli to evacuate civilians and wounded, but it did not appear to have been heeded.

Haftar casts himself as a foe of extremism but is viewed by opponents as a new dictator in the mould of Gaddafi, whose four-decade rule saw torture, disappearances and assassinations.

Haftar enjoys the backing of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which see him as a bulwark against Islamists and have supported him militarily, according to U.N. reports.

Forces with the Tripoli government have announced an operation to defense the capital called “Volcano of Anger”.

Allied groups from Misrata down the coast have been moving pickup trucks fitted with machine guns into Tripoli.

The LNA says it has 85,000 men but this includes soldiers paid by the central government that it hopes to inherit. Its elite force, Saiqa (Lightning), numbers some 3,500, while Haftar’s sons also have well-equipped troops, LNA sources say.

Since NATO-backed rebels ousted Gaddafi, Libya has been a transit point for hundreds of thousands of migrants trekking across the Sahara in hope of reaching Europe across the sea.</s>An official representative of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), Ahmed al-Mesmari, accused the Government of National Accord (GNA) head Fayez al-Sarraj of making a deal with terrorist groups, the al-Arabiya broadcaster reported.

"There are alliances between the government and terrorist organisations," al-Mesmari said on Tuesday.

The LNA spokesman's remarks come amid Haftar's troops' advancement on Tripoli which commenced last week; the forces struck positions of the military loyal to the GNA at the city's defunct international airport on Tuesday following an attack on another airport a day earlier. The GNA, in turn, reacted to the offensive by announcing a mobilisation of its forces. Additionally, it vowed to initiate a counteroffensive dubbed operation 'Volcano of Rage' to repel the LNA.

READ MORE: Haftar Army Launches New Strikes on Tripoli International Airport — Reports

The United Nations previously stated that the organisation would hold a conference in the city of Ghadames on 14-16 April to discuss solutions to the conflict.</s>(UPDATED) A security source at Mitiga airport says no side has yet claimed responsibility for the air raid, which hit a runway without causing casualties

TRIPOLI, Libya (UPDATED) – Fighting raged around Tripoli and an air strike closed its only functioning airport Monday, April 8, as Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar defied international calls to halt his advance on the capital.

Thousands were also reported by the United Nations to be fleeing the capital city in face of Haftar's surprise assault which has left dozens dead.

The EU's foreign policy chief on Monday added her voice to those urging the eastern strongman to stop his offensive, in the wake of calls for restraint by the UN Security Council and the United States.

"I make a very strong appeal to Libyan leaders and in particular to Haftar to stop all military activities...and to return to the negotiation table," Federica Mogherini said after talks with EU foreign ministers.

Dozens of people have been killed and thousands displaced in the fighting since Haftar's forces launched their onslaught against Tripoli and its unity government on Thursday, April 4.

A security source at Mitiga airport, east of the capital, said no side had yet claimed responsibility for Monday's air raid, which hit a runway without causing casualties.

The civil aviation authority decided "to suspend aerial traffic until further notice" to the capital, said Mohammed Gniwa, a spokesman for national carrier Libyan Airlines.

An airport source, who did want to be named, confirmed the suspension.

The oil-rich northern African country has been rocked by violent power struggles between an array of armed groups since the NATO-backed overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

Haftar, a former Kadhafi military chief, has emerged as a major player, his self-styled Libyan National Army backing an administration in the country's east in opposition to the UN-backed Government of National Accord.

Having seized control of much of eastern Libya and buoyed by a series of victories in the desert south, Haftar turned his sights on Tripoli, vowing to "cleanse" it of "terrorists and mercenaries."

After a pause overnight, fighting resumed Monday morning around the capital's destroyed main airport, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Tripoli, and the rural area of Wadi Rabi further east.

World powers have expressed alarm at the violence, saying it threatens to further destabilize Libya and derail UN-led efforts to find a political solution to the country's woes.

The US has appealed for an "immediate halt" to combat operations and the UN Security Council has called on Haftar's forces to stop their advance.

On Sunday, April 7, Russia blocked proposals for the council to adopt a formal statement, instead insisting that all Libyan forces be urged to stop fighting, diplomats said.

Moscow is a key supporter of Haftar, along with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

But the Kremlin on Monday urged "all sides to reject actions that could provoke bloodshed in battle and the deaths of civilians."

Fierce clashes Sunday near Tripoli saw Haftar's fighters and other powerful western Libyan armed groups exchanging fire including air strikes.

Forces backing the Tripoli-based GNA on Sunday announced a counteroffensive dubbed "Volcano of Anger."

Spokesman Colonel Mohamed Gnounou said it was aimed at "purging all Libyan cities of aggressor and illegitimate forces," in reference to Haftar's fighters.

Unity government health minister A'hmid Omar told Libya's Al-Ahrar television station late Sunday that around 50 people had been wounded along with those killed.

His ministry on Monday put the death toll at 35.

Haftar's forces have said 14 of their fighters have died.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Libya, Maria Ribeiro, said Monday the fighting had displaced more than 2,800 people, blocked rescuers from reaching casualties and damaged electricity lines.

She again urged the warring parties to implement a temporary humanitarian ceasefire.

The previous day, fighting raged throughout a two-hour window set by the UN for a pause in hostilities for civilians and the wounded to flee.

Haftar's offensive has threatened to plunge the country into a full-blown civil war and once again thwart diplomatic efforts to find a solution to Libya's woes.

It was launched just days ahead of a planned UN conference aimed at uniting Libya's rivals and paving the way for elections.

Envoy Ghassan Salame has insisted the UN was "determined" to go ahead with the April 14-16 conference.

The UN mission in Libya said on Twitter that Salame met Monday with unity government head Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli to discuss how to "assist at this critical and difficult juncture." – Rappler.com
A warplane loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, reported to be a MiG-23, strikes Mitiga International Airport, the only functional airport in Tripoli. A LNA spokesman says civilian planes were not targeted in the air raid.