UPDATE - Libya: Haftar militias bomb Tripoli, 5 civilians killed

UPDATE WITH DETAILS FROM ANOTHER ATTACK, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) - At least five civilians were killed when militias loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar shelled Tripoli twice Wednesday, according to an official.

Health Ministry media advisor Amin al-Hashimi said 27 civilians, including children, were wounded in the attacks.

Shells landed on a coastal road in the Tajura region, he said, adding that the road is the only one linking Tripoli with surrounding areas in the east.

He said militias targeted civilian settlements late Wednesday in the Abu Salim region of southern Tripoli.

Photographs and video images shared on the social media showed there was a fire in places where rockets fell and black smoke could be seen rising from the region.

Following the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya’s government was founded in 2015 under a UN-led political deal. Since April 2019, the government has been under attack by Haftar’s forces, based in eastern Libya, and more than 1,000 people have been killed in the violence. It launched Operation Peace Storm on March 26 to counter attacks against the capital.

* Writing by Havva Kara Aydin and Ali H. M. Abo Rezeg