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> 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.

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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> 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> BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar shot down a Tripoli government warplane purportedly flown by a foreign mercenary south of the Libyan capital on Tuesday, the Libyan National Army (LNA) said.

The LNA media unit released photographs of what it said was the pilot receiving medical treatment while seated on a chair. One showed an LNA commander, Abdulsalam al-Hassi, standing behind him.

Video posted on social media, which an LNA source said was authentic, showed the pilot, looking groggy and wearing a blood-soaked T-shirt and khaki jacket, being questioned in English.

Asked his name, he said what sounded to be Jimmy Rees but his answer was not clear. He gave his age as 29 and said he was “from Portugal”.

Asked what he was doing in Libya, he said: “I was requested to destroy roads and bridges”. Asked who sent him, he said it was a civilian contract with someone called Hadi but he did not know his full name.

In Lisbon, the Portuguese Defense Ministry and they could not confirm the pilot’s nationality.

“For now the only thing we can say is that he is not a Portuguese soldier,” a ministry spokeswoman told Reuters.

Reuters correspondents in Lisbon said the man did not sound Portuguese.

A spokesman for forces aligned with the internationally recognized government which is based in Tripoli had no immediate comment on the incident.

Residents of Gharyan, about 80 km (50 miles) south of Tripoli, said that when the plane was heard overhead, anti-aircraft fire opened up. There was an explosion as it was hit.

“The jet was shot down in Al-Hira town (10 km from Gharyan) and I saw LNA troops capturing the pilot,” a Gharyan resident told Reuters.

The eastern-based LNA, led by Haftar and backed principally by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, began an offensive against Tripoli in early April but its advance has been blocked by forces loyal to Tripoli on the city’s southern outskirts.

The escalation is a setback for efforts by the United Nations and Western states to end the chaos and political division in Libya eight years after a NATO-backed uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. </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> TRIPOLI - Several air strikes and explosions shook the Libyan capital Tripoli overnight, residents said, in an escalation of a two-week offensive by eastern forces on the city held by the internationally recognised government.

A Reuters reporter and several residents said they saw an aircraft circling for more than 10 minutes over the capital late on Saturday, and that it made a humming sound before opening fire on several areas.

An aircraft was heard again after midnight, circling for more than ten minutes before a heavy explosion shook the ground.

It was not clear whether an aircraft or unmanned drone was behind the strike, which triggered heavy anti-aircraft fire. Residents had reported drone strikes in recent days, but there has been no confirmation and explosions heard in the city centre this time were louder than in previous days.

Residents counted several missile strikes, one of which apparently hit a military camp of forces loyal to Tripoli in the Sabaa district in the south of the capital, scene of the heaviest fighting between the rival forces.

Authorities closed Tripoli’s only functioning airport, cutting air links to a city of an estimated 2.5 million residents. The airport in Misrata, a city 200 km to the east, remained open.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) force loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar started an offensive two weeks ago but has been unable to breach the government’s southern defenses.

If a drone strike was confirmed this would point to more sophisticated warfare. The LNA has so far mainly used ageing Soviet-made jets from the air force of Muammar Gaddafi, toppled in 2011, lacking precision firepower and helicopters, according to residents and military sources.

In the past the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have supported Haftar with air strikes during campaigns to take eastern Libya. Both countries flew air strikes on Tripoli in 2014 during a different conflict to help a Haftar-allied force, US officials said at the time.

Since 2014 the UAE and Egypt have provided the LNA with military equipment such as aircraft and helicopters, helping Haftar gain the upper hand in Libya’s eight-year conflict, UN reports have established.

The UAE even built an air base in Al Khadim in eastern Libya, one such report said in 2017.

The air strikes, which were also filmed by residents in video posted online, came after a day of heavy clashes in southern districts, with shelling audible in the city center.

The violence spiked after the White House said on Friday that US President Donald Trump spoke by telephone with Haftar earlier in the week.

The disclosure of the call and a US statement that it “recognised Field Marshal Haftar’s significant role in fighting terrorism and securing Libya’s oil resources” has boosted the commander’s supporters and enraged his opponents.

Western powers and the Gulf have been divided over a push by Haftar’s forces to seize Tripoli, undermining calls by the United Nations for a ceasefire.

Both sides claimed progress in southern Tripoli on Saturday, but no more details were immediately available.

A Reuters TV cameraman visiting the southern Khalat Furgan suburb heard heavy shelling but saw no apparent change in the frontline.

On Friday, two children were killed in shelling in southern Tripoli, residents said. The fighting has killed 227 people and wounded 1,128, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said before the air strikes.

On Thursday, both the United States and Russia said they could not support a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his LNA advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States did not give a reason for its decision not to support the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya. </s> TRIPOLI: At least 42 people were killed and dozens wounded in an air strike targeting a town hall meeting in southern Libya, a local official and the UN-recognised government said Monday, accusing forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The Government of National Accord (GNA) said Sunday´s raid struck the residential district of Qalaa in the town of Murzuq.

The air raid left "42 dead and more than 60 injured, 30 of them critically," municipal council official Ibrahim Omar told AFP. He said a government building at which more than 200 local dignitaries were gathered "to settle social differences" was targeted three times.

"No armed or wanted people were among them... Haftar bombed unarmed civilians," he said, calling for humanitarian aid since the local hospital could not cope with the high number of casualties. The GNA condemned the attack on its Facebook page, also blaming it on Haftar´s forces.

Haftar, who seized swathes of southern Libya earlier in the year, has been battling since April to oust pro-GNA forces from the capital Tripoli. The GNA urged the UN´s Libya mission and international community "to carry out an investigation into the crimes committed by Haftar´s militias in Murzuq". There was no immediate comment on the raid from Haftar´s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA). With its 50,000 inhabitants, mostly from the Toubou ethnic group, and its ancient fortress, the oasis town is located almost 900 kilometres by road south of Tripoli.

The Toubou have remained at odds with rival Arab tribes which have rallied with Haftar´s forces who took control of the region in January in an operation to "purge it of terrorists and criminals".

The European Union, which has previously called for those breaching international law in Libya to be brought to justice, condemned the strike. "Indiscriminate attacks on densely populated residential areas may amount to war crimes and must cease immediately," said EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic.

With fighting for Tripoli stalled on the ground after initial advances by Haftar´s forces, the two sides have increasingly taken their fight to the skies with warplanes and drones. Aviation officials said Monday that a Libyan passenger plane had narrowly escaped being hit by incoming fire as it landed at Tripoli´s sole functioning airport.
Libyan Air Force jets loyal to Khalifa Haftar strike GNA positions in Tripoli for first time since the offensive began, including four airstrikes near the Bab al-Azizia military barracks.