UN blasts Haftar airstrikes on civilian airport near Tripoli

UN blasts Haftar airstrikes on civilian airport near Tripoli
The Libyan force under commander Khalifa Haftar said it bombed the Zuwara airport because it allegedly housed Turkish-made drones belonging to militias allied with the UN-supported government in Tripoli.
1 min read
18 August, 2019
Haftar launched an offensive against Tripoli in April. [Getty]

The UN mission in Libya has condemned airstrikes by the self-styled Libyan National Army on a militia-run airport west of the capital, Tripoli, saying the facility had no military targets.

Last week, the Libyan force under commander Khalifa Haftar said it bombed the Zuwara airport because it allegedly housed Turkish-made drones belonging to the militias allied with the UN-supported government in Tripoli.

The UN mission said it inspected the Zuwara airport and found "no military infrastructure or assets.”

Haftar's forces said Sunday they also targeted a military warehouse in the western city of Misrata, also allegedly because it housed drones.

Forces loyal to the GNA and the LNA are embroiled in a stalemate in Tripoli's southern outskirts, after Haftar launched an offensive against the capital in April.

Fighting over the last four months has killed 1,093 people and wounded 5,752, according to the World Health Organization. 

Some 120,000 have been displaced over the same period.

Libya has been mired in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. 

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