Libya: Pro-Haftar forces seize Tripoli airport

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar

TRIPOLI (AA) – Forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said Friday they had captured 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.

Mismari said Tarhuna, a city 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the southeast of Tripoli, was also captured.

He warned that they would retaliate against any threats to their forces.

Earlier in the day, the LNA claimed on Facebook to have captured three major areas near Libya’s capital -- Qasr bin Ghashir, Wadi Al Rabi and Suq al Khamis.

However, a spokesperson for the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) announced later on Libya al-Ahrar TV that they had reclaimed the airport from Haftar’s forces and that clashes were ongoing in Qasr bin Ghashir.

He added that they will continue fighting until the threat is eliminated.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody 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.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit from Ankara