General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army claims to have shot down a military airplane belonging to the Tripoli-based government of national accord (GNA) that took off from Misrata.LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari told reporters about the incident during a press briefing on Wednesday. He did not specify the type of the plane, just that it had taken off from the GNA-controlled Misrata and was shot down over Tripoli.Unconfirmed reports indicate it was an Aero L-39 Albatros, a Czech-made training jet often used in a ground attack role.As LNA troops advanced, the remaining US forces in Libya pulled out from Tripoli. There were conflicting reports of checkpoints taken and lost, as well as air strikes by both sides in the area.Once the most prosperous country in Africa, Libya lapsed into chaos and civil war in 2011, when NATO backed Islamist rebels in overthrowing and brutally murdering the country's long-time ruler, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. </s> General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army claims to have shot down a military airplane belonging to the Tripoli-based government of national accord (GNA) that took off from Misrata.

LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari told reporters about the incident during a press briefing on Wednesday. He did not specify the type of the plane, just that it had taken off from the GNA-controlled Misrata and was shot down over Tripoli.

Unconfirmed reports indicate it was an Aero L-39 Albatros, a Czech-made training jet often used in a ground attack role.

Haftar’s forces control almost 80 percent of Libya, and last week moved against militias supporting the GNA in the west of the country, calling them “illegal armed groups.”

As LNA troops advanced, the remaining US forces in Libya pulled out from Tripoli. There were conflicting reports of checkpoints taken and lost, as well as air strikes by both sides in the area.

Also on rt.com NATO bombing? How Libya's conflict can be resolved

Clashes have resulted in the cancellation of a UN-sponsored peace conference, which sought to negotiate a power-sharing arrangement between the LNA and the internationally recognized GNA of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, which controls less than 8 percent of Libya’s territory.

Once the most prosperous country in Africa, Libya lapsed into chaos and civil war in 2011, when NATO backed Islamist rebels in overthrowing and brutally murdering the country’s long-time ruler, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Like this story? Share it with a friend! </s> A Libyan warplane of military commander Khalifa Haftar’s forces made an emergency landing in neighbouring Tunisia on Monday, authorities in Libya said.

The aircraft was on a “reconnaissance and patrol mission and suffered a technical problem resulting in an emergency landing” in southern Tunisia, said a statement from an administration based in eastern Libya.

Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army, which backs the eastern administration, launched an offensive in April to try to seize Tripoli from the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

Tunisia’s defence ministry said the jet landed early Monday on a road near Medenine city, which lies some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Libyan border.

The ministry mobilised a fighter jet “to intercept and identify the aircraft, but it had to make an emergency landing”, said the ministry, adding that one colonel was on board.

Onlookers including children gathered near the jet, while the pilot spoke to Tunisian authorities.

The jet was transporting two bombs, said an AFP photographer at the scene where the warplane had been cordoned off at the roadside.

Libya’s internationally-recognised GNA in Tripoli also said the jet belonged to pro-Haftar forces.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the battle for Tripoli, according to the World Health Organization, while more than 100,000 people have been displaced by the violence. </s> An official representative of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), Ahmed al-Mesmari, accused the Government of National Accord (GNA) head Fayez al-Sarraj of making a deal with terrorist groups, the al-Arabiya broadcaster reported.

"There are alliances between the government and terrorist organisations," al-Mesmari said on Tuesday.

The LNA spokesman's remarks come amid Haftar's troops' advancement on Tripoli which commenced last week; the forces struck positions of the military loyal to the GNA at the city's defunct international airport on Tuesday following an attack on another airport a day earlier. The GNA, in turn, reacted to the offensive by announcing a mobilisation of its forces. Additionally, it vowed to initiate a counteroffensive dubbed operation 'Volcano of Rage' to repel the LNA.

READ MORE: Haftar Army Launches New Strikes on Tripoli International Airport — Reports

The United Nations previously stated that the organisation would hold a conference in the city of Ghadames on 14-16 April to discuss solutions to the conflict. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )-Eastern Libyan forces loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar carried out four air strikes near the El Feel oilfield as a warning to a rival commander, a field engineer said on Saturday.It was the first military action by the eastern army since it banned all flights in southern Libya without its authorization on Friday.The strikes were directed at commander Ali Kennah, who was inside the compound at the time, the engineer told Reuters. Kennah is allied to the internationally recognized Tripoli government, while Haftar backs a parallel administration in the east.The fractured political climate has caused significant disruption to the country's oil industry.The Tripoli Government of National Accord (GNA), backed by the United Nations, said in a statement that the strike targeted a civilian plane that was trying to evacuate a number of wounded people from the oilfield to Tripoli.The strikes damaged the oilfield's infrastructure and its airport runway and "put civilian lives at risk", the statement added, without adding details of any casualties.State oil firm NOC, which runs the El Feel field with foreign partners, could not be immediately reached for comment.Haftar is a dominant figure in eastern Libya where his Libyan National Army group seized the second-largest city of Benghazi in 2017 by expelling Islamists and other fighters.Last month, his forces started an offensive in the south to fight militants and secure its oilfields, and on Wednesday made good on the promise by moving on the closed El Sharara field.His forces have occupied a pumping station some 20 km (12 miles) from the main El Sharara field but not the rest of the 315,000 barrels a day site, according to a field engineer.The El Feel field is located in the same southwestern region and is still producing crude, usually around 70,000 barrels a day.El Sharara was shut in December after tribesmen and state guards seized it.Kennah, the commander of the Sabha military zone who served under former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was appointed by Prime Minister Fayez Seraj last week. Fayez leads the GNA. </s> Fighter jets of UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) on Monday hit an airbase under the control of east-Libya based commander Khalifa Haftar, according to Libya's Al Ahrar TV.

Al-Watiyah, an airbase 130 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of Tripoli, is the only airbase that Haftar, who commands forces loyal to Libya’s eastern government, captured near Libya’s capital. Haftar's forces used the airbase to launch airstrikes on rival Tripoli-based government forces. His Libyan National Army (LNA) has yet to make a statement on the airstrikes.

On Thursday, Haftar launched a military campaign to recapture Tripoli from the UN-backed government. A day later, he announced the capture of 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.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011 when a 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. </s> Fighter jets of UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) on Monday hit an airbase under the control of east-Libya based commander Khalifa Haftar, according to Libya's Al Ahrar TV.

Al-Watiyah, an airbase 130 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of Tripoli, is the only airbase that Haftar, who commands forces loyal to Libya’s eastern government, captured near Libya’s capital.

Haftar's forces used the airbase to launch airstrikes on rival Tripoli-based government forces.

His Libyan National Army (LNA) has yet to make a statement on the airstrikes.

On Thursday, Haftar launched a military campaign to recapture Tripoli from the UN-backed government. A day later, he announced the capture of 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.

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

This article has been adapted from its original source. </s> The Libyan National Army (LNA) said the military plane they had shot down in southern Tripoli belonged to the EU’s Operation Sophia and that they will immediately return its foreign Portuguese pilot.

The LNA said that initial information proved that the plane was a European surveillance plane used to monitor the illegal migrant smuggling routes in the Mediterranean.

“We will deliver the Portuguese pilot to his country immediately after the treatment of his wounds and we appreciate the work of our European brothers in the fight against illegal immigration,” LNA spokesperson Ahmed Mismari said in a statement.

“We care about the safety of the Portuguese pilot and treat him as a guest rather than a prisoner. What happened was a mistake as a result of the state of war we are going through, and we will hand him over to the European Sofia operation immediately,” Mismari added.

The LNA forces of military commander Khalifa Haftar said they had shot down a military plane in the southern district of al-Hira on Saturday.

Earlier, there were conflicting reports regarding the pilot’s nationality, with some claiming he was an Italian. But in a video seen by Al Arabiya English, the pilot, appearing with a head injury, identified himself by name and said he is from Portugal.

In early April, Haftar, who commands forces loyal to a rival government based in eastern Libya, launched a wide-ranging campaign to capture Tripoli, where the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is headquartered. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A jet from Khalifa Haftar’s east Libyan military forces intercepted a civilian plane on Sunday as part of its push to control the oil-rich south of the riven nation, the faction said.

Libya has been in turmoil since the NATO-backed toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with parallel administrations and armed groups carving the nation into swathes of control.

Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) began an offensive in the south last month to fight militants and take control of oil installations, and this week banned flights without its permission.

In a statement, the LNA said it scrambled a jet after a plane took off from the El Feel oilfield without permission, and forced it to land near Sabha, the largest town in south Libya.

It was allowed to continue to Tripoli, seat of the internationally-recognised government, after inspection.

The Tripoli government protested against the interception, saying the Libyan Airlines plane was carrying oil workers.

The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the eastern city of Benghazi, wants to secure the El Sharara oilfield, Libya’s largest, and occupied a pumping station 20km (12 miles) away on Wednesday, according to a field engineer.

The Tripoli government, striving to reassert its former control of El Sharara, has sent troops there, a source from the administration said.

El Sharara has been shut since December when local tribesmen and state guards seized it.
Libyan National Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar declares a no-fly zone for military aircraft over western Libya, after LNA forces were targeted by airstrikes from GNA warplanes that took off from Misrata Airport.