Libya: Pro-Haftar forces bomb Tripoli airport

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI (AA) – A warplane belonging to East Libya-based forces struck the Tripoli International Airport on Tuesday, according to eyewitnesses.

No injuries were reported.

The airport is currently under the control of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) after days of clashes with forces led by East Libya-based military commander Khalifa Haftar, who launched a military campaign last week to capture Tripoli from GNA troops.

On Monday, warplanes affiliated with Haftar's forces bombed Tripoli-based Mitiga International airport, in an attack denounced by the GNA as a "war crime".

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of strongman 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 Benghazi, with which Haftar is associated, and another in Tripoli, which has UN support.