UPDATE - Tripoli govt: Targeting Mitiga airport was 'war crime'

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI (AA) – Libya's Tripoli-based government denounced an attack Monday on Mitiga International Airport as a "war crime”.

The bombing of the airport in the capital "is contrary to local laws, international covenants, teachings of religion and humanitarian principles," its Presidential Council said in a statement.

"Attacking the airport has worsened the suffering of the injured who were set to be transferred abroad for treatment," it added.

Warplanes affiliated with Libya’s eastern government and forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar attacked the airport earlier in the day.

Several targets were struck in the raid, a local military source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

An airport official told Anadolu Agency that the facility has since been evacuated and all air traffic suspended.

Last Thursday, Haftar launched military operations with the aim of capturing Tripoli. After initial success, however, the campaign on Monday appeared to have ground to a halt.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the escalation in violence, including the attack on 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," Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman, said in a statement.

"He emphasizes that there is no military solution to the Libya conflict and calls on all parties to engage in immediate dialogue to reach a political solution. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Libya stands ready to facilitate that dialogue," he added.

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.

*Michael Hernandez contributed to this report from Washington