Image copyright AFP Image caption Many of those killed were from the Libyan National Army, seen in action in this file photo

Reports suggest as many as 140 people, including civilians, may have died in an attack on an airbase in Libya.

It was originally thought 60 people died when a government-allied militia tried to take over the Brak al-Shati base on Thursday.

The UN-backed government's defence minister and the commander of the militia have both been suspended pending an investigation.

The prime minister's office has denied ordering the attack.

A militia spokesman said they had "liberated the base and destroyed all the forces inside".

The town's mayor said some aircraft had been set ablaze.

Most of the dead were soldiers of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), an alliance in the east of the country which does not recognise the government in the capital, Tripoli. That force has been in control of the airbase since December.

Its spokesman gave the new death toll of 140.

"The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren't armed. Most of them were executed," he said.

The UN's envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said he was "outraged" by reports of summary executions.

The attack breached an informal truce between the rival forces that was reached earlier this month when the LNA's commander, General Khalifa Haftar, met the UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

The Tripoli government has set up an investigative committee to present its findings to the prime minister within 15 days.</s>The death toll in the attack of a rebel airbase in south Libya rose to 140, a spokesman for military strongman Khalifa Haftar said. Originally the number of fatalities was listed as 60 on Thursday when a government-allied militia tried to take over the Brak al-Shati base controlled by the Libyan National Army.

Start the conversation, or Read more at UPI.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some 140 people, including civilians, have died in an attack by Libyan militia loyal to UN-backed government on the opposition-held Brak al-Shati airbase, a spokesman for the opposition has said.

The BBC broadcaster said Saturday the government of national accord (GNA) had denied ordering the allied militia to strike on Thursday the southern base manned by the Libyan National Army (LNA).

"The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren't armed. Most of them were executed," the LNA member said.

GNA's defense minister and militia's commander have reportedly been suspended pending the probe.

UN special envoy for Libya Martin Kobler condemned what he said was an unprovoked attack. He said he was outraged by reports of fatalities that included civilians and possible summary executions and urged the sides not to push into further conflict.</s>A spokesman for east Libyan armed forces said on Friday that as many as 141 people had been killed a day earlier in an attack on a southern air base.

The head of Libya’s United Nations-backed government suspended his defence minister pending an investigation into the incident.

The attack at Brak Al-Shati air base shattered a truce in the area, which in recent months had become a flashpoint between military alliances based in eastern and western Libya.

It risks a major escalation in a stop-start conflict between eastern-based factions and rivals loosely aligned with current and former governments in the capital, Tripoli.

Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), said 103 of those killed in the attack at the air base were LNA troops, most of them from the 12th Brigade stationed there.

They were attacked by a brigade from the western city of Misrata known as the Third Force, which previously controlled the base and is nominally aligned with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

Earlier on Friday, the mayor of Brak Al-Shati and a medical source in the town put the death toll at 89, though the medical official said some bodies had not been brought to the hospital. Mr Mismari said some of the bodies were only collected on Friday.

It was not possible to independently verify the number of casualties. Local and LNA officials have said some of those killed were civilians who appeared to have been summarily executed. Mohamed Gliwan, a spokesman for the Third Force, told local TV that LNA troops who were killed inside the base were armed.

Human Rights Watch cited a medical official, an eyewitness, and photo and video footage to say that attacking forces had killed “scores of LNA fighters, some with bullets to the head, in apparent acts of summary execution”. UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler called the attack unprovoked and vicious, saying it “must not push (Libya) into further, serious conflict.”

GNA prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj announced that he was suspending both defence minister Mahdi Al-Barghathi and Third Force commander Jamal Traiki, “until it is determined who was responsible for violating the ceasefire”.

He condemned the escalation at Brak Al-Shati “in the strongest terms” and called for an immediate ceasefire. He denied issuing any instructions to the ministry of defence.

Mr Barghathi is a former LNA commander turned opponent of LNA chief Khalifa Haftar.

Also on Friday, a car bomb south of Benghazi killed a prominent tribal leader linked to the LNA along with five other people. The blast in Suluq, 50km (31 miles) south of Benghazi, also wounded 26 people, a medical source said.

The LNA has been fighting a three-year campaign against Islamist militants and other opponents in Benghazi and other parts of eastern Libya.</s>At least 141 people including civilians were killed in an attack on Brak al-Shati airbase used by Libya's Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA).

The attack was reportedly launched by the Third Force militia, of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. LNA spokesperson informed that the soldiers killed in the attack were unarmed and were executed while returning from a military parade.

The Government of National Accord has released a statement condemning the attack and informing that a commission of inquiry has been set up to investigate the matter.

The GNA has also suspended defence minister, al-Mahdi al-Barghati, and the head of the Third Force until the investigation is complete.

The attack follows a month after the LNA attacked the Tamenhant airbase controlled by the Third Force.

Libya has suffered unrest since Muammar Gaddafi's assassination as rival militias and authorities collided vying for the country's control. (ANI)</s>As many as 141 people have died in an attack on an airbase in southern Libya, Reuters reported on Friday. The Third Force militia, which is loyal to the United Nations-backed government of national accord in Tripoli, attacked the airbase held by military strongman Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, on Thursday.

Embarrassed by the scale of the damage caused, the government of national accord suspended its defence minister, al-Mahdi al-Barghati, and the head of the Third Force pending an inquiry. It also said it had not ordered the attack and condemned it.

The Brak-al-Shati airbase was a bone of contention between the two competing militias based in eastern and western Libya. The majority of those who died were soldiers of the LNA, but several civilians were also killed, The Guardian reported.

“The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren’t armed. Most of them were executed,” spokesperson of the LNA, Ahmad al-Mesmari said.

Since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the African country has been torn apart by a bloody civil war. The western part of the country is controlled by the government of national unity, while the rival LNA has charge of the east. Neither recognises the other.</s>A spokesman for east Libyan armed forces said on Friday that as many as 141 people had been killed a day earlier in an attack on a southern air base. Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the eastern-based Libyan National Army , said 103 of those killed in the attack at Brak Al-Shati air base were LNA troops stationed in the area.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>A spokesman for east Libyan armed forces said on Friday that as many as 141 people had been killed a day earlier in an attack on a southern air base, Reuters reported.

Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), said 103 of those killed in the attack at Brak Al-Shati air base were LNA troops stationed in the area.

Earlier, the mayor of Brak Al-Shati and a medical source in the town put the death toll at 89, though the medical official said some bodies had not been brought to the hospital.

It was not possible to independently verify the number of casualties. Local and LNA officials have said that some of those killed were civilians who appeared to have been summarily executed.</s>An attack on an airbase in south Libya has killed 141 people, mostly soldiers loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar, a spokesman for his forces said on Friday.

Members of the Third Force militia loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli on Thursday attacked the base used by Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), military sources said earlier.

LNA spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari late Friday said the victims included civilians who worked at the Brak al-Shati airbase or were in the nearby area, also reporting that summary executions took place.

"The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren't armed. Most of them were executed," he said.

The GNA said in a statement late Friday a commission of inquiry had been set up to investigate the attack.

It said it had decided to suspend its defence minister, al-Mahdi al-Barghati, and the head of the Third Force from their duties until those responsible were identified.

Both the GNA and defence ministry earlier condemned the assault and said they had not ordered any such action.

The unity government, the rival administration in eastern Libya and their respective backers are battling for influence in the North African country which has been wracked by chaos since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The LNA does not recognise the authority of the GNA, and instead supports the rival authorities based in the east.

The UN envoy to Libya earlier on Friday voiced alarm at reports of the attack on the base, 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of Tripoli.

"I am outraged by reports of significant numbers of fatalities, including civilians and by reports that summary executions may have taken place," UN envoy Martin Kobler said in a statement.

Britain's ambassador to Libya, Peter Millett, also denounced the assault.

"Disgusted by attack on Brak al-Shati & reports of mass executions. Perpetrators must be brought to justice," he wrote on Twitter.

The incident at the base in Wadi al-Shati district comes a month after an attack by the LNA on the Tamenhant airbase controlled by the Third Force near the south's main city of Sebha.

That attack was called off after a reconciliation meeting between Haftar and unity government head Fayez al-Sarraj in Abu Dhabi on May 2.

The speaker of the eastern-based parliament, which is supported by the LNA, accused the Misrata-based Third Force of a "serious breach of the truce agreement reached in Abu Dhabi".

Aguila Saleh said there were a "number of martyrs" in LNA ranks, without giving a figure.

The speaker said he had given orders for the armed forces "to take the measures necessary to respond to the assault and defend the south and cleanse it of all outlaw militias".

In Tripoli, the GNA called for an immediate ceasefire in the south, where tribes and militias vie for control of lucrative smuggling routes with neighbouring Chad, Niger and Sudan.

"We hope reason will prevail and that the escalation and provocation will stop," it said.

The unity government's defence ministry laid the blame on "those who started bombing Tamenhant base with warplanes and tanks", referring to Haftar's forces.

In new violence on Friday, a pro-Haftar tribal chief, Sheikh Ibrayek Alwati, and five other people including a child were killed in a car bombing outside a mosque in the eastern city of Slouq, medical and security sources said.</s>A spokesman for east Libyan armed forces said on Friday that as many as 141 people had been killed a day earlier in an attack on a southern air base, and the head of Libya’s United Nations-backed government suspended his defense minister pending an investigation into the incident.

The attack at Brak Al-Shati air base shattered a truce in the area, which in recent months had become a flash point between military alliances based in eastern and western Libya.

It risks a major escalation in a stop-start conflict between eastern-based factions and rivals loosely aligned with current and former governments in the capital, Tripoli.

Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), said 103 of those killed in the attack at the air base were LNA troops, most of them from the 12th Brigade stationed there.

They were attacked by a brigade from the western city of Misrata known as the Third Force, which previously controlled the base and is nominally aligned with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

Earlier on Friday, the mayor of Brak Al-Shati and a medical source in the town put the death toll at 89, though the medical official said some bodies had not been brought to the hospital. Mismari said some of the bodies were only collected on Friday.

It was not possible to independently verify the number of casualties. Local and LNA officials have said some of those killed were civilians who appeared to have been summarily executed. Mohamed Gliwan, a spokesman for the Third Force, told local TV that LNA troops who were killed inside the base were armed.

Human Rights Watch cited a medical official, an eyewitness, and photo and video footage to say that attacking forces had killed “scores of LNA fighters, some with bullets to the head, in apparent acts of summary execution.” U.N. Libya envoy Martin Kobler called the attack unprovoked and vicious, saying it “must not push (Libya) into further, serious conflict.”

GNA Prime Minister Fayez Seraj announced that he was suspending both defense chief Mahdi Al-Barghathi and Third Force commander Jamal Traiki, “until it is determined who was responsible for violating the cease-fire.”

He condemned the escalation at Brak Al-Shati “in the strongest terms” and called for an immediate cease-fire. He denied issuing any instructions to the defense ministry.

Barghathi is a former LNA commander turned opponent of LNA chief Khalifa Haftar. He is widely reported to have played a role in plotting past military operations against the LNA, though his ministry denied ordering Thursday’s attack.

The LNA has said Islamist militants and the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), whose members previously fought the LNA in Benghazi, also took part in the attack.

Mismari said the LNA had carried out airstrikes in the Sabha and Jufra regions in response to the attack.

Also on Friday, a car bomb south of Benghazi killed a prominent tribal leader linked to the LNA along with five other people. The blast in Suluq, 50 km south of Benghazi, also wounded 26 people, a medical source said.

The LNA has been fighting a three-year campaign against Islamist militants and other opponents in Benghazi and other parts of eastern Libya.
The death toll from an attack on a Libyan National Army-controlled airbase in southern Libya reportedly rises to 140 people.