CAIRO, April 4 (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan forces have fully secured the town of Gharyan south of the capital Tripoli and have arrived in the area of al-Heira, a spokesman for the force said on Thursday.

Eastern force commander Khalifa Haftar had earlier announced the start of an operation to take the capital. (Reporting by Omar Fahmy and Hesham Hajali Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Andrew Heavens) </s> TRIPOLI - The army behind Libya’s UN-backed government has announced a counteroffensive to defend Tripoli, vowing to reclaim all areas seized by forces loyal to renegade General Khalifa Haftar, who have been marching on the outskirts of the capital.

Colonel Mohamed Gnounou told reporters in Tripoli on Sunday that the counteroffensive, dubbed “Volcano of Anger”, was aimed at “purging all Libyan cities of aggressor and illegitimate forces”.

The announcement came as Haftar’s forces said they conducted the first air raid on a Tripoli suburb as part of their aim oust the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and control Tripoli. The alleged strike came after GNA forces launched air raids on Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) around 50km south of Tripoli on Saturday, reportedly killing one person.

Meanwhile, the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL) made an “urgent appeal” for a two-hour truce in the southern suburbs to evacuate the wounded and civilians caught in the fighting.

“[UNSMIL calls on] all armed parties in the Wadi Rabi area, Al-Kayekh, Gasr Ben Ghachir and Al-Aziziya to respect a humanitarian truce (between 14:00 and 16:00 GMT) to secure the evacuation of wounded and civilians by rescue teams and the Libyan Red Crescent”.

Fearing that large-scale fighting could break out, the city’s resident have begun stocking up on food and fuel. At least 35 people, including civilians, have been killed on both sides since Haftar launched his offensive four days ago.

The health ministry of the Tripoli-based government said in a statement that at least 21 people were killed, including a doctor, and 27 others were wounded. Ahmed al-Mesmari, spokesman for Haftar’s forces, said Saturday that 14 troops were killed.

The internationally recognised GNA controls Tripoli, situated in northwestern Libya, while the LNA is allied to a parallel administration based in the east of the oil-rich country, which splintered into a patchwork of competing power bases following the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. On Sunday, the US military said it had temporarily pulled some of its forces out of Libya amid the upsurge of fighting in the North African country. “Due to increased unrest in Libya, a contingent of US forces supporting US Africa Command temporarily relocated from the country in response to security conditions on the ground,” it said in a statement. It did not detail how many military personnel had been withdrawn from Libya.

US Africa Command, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, said its mission in Libya involves “military support to diplomatic missions, counterterrorism activities, enhancing partnerships and improving security across the region”.

It said it would “continue to monitor conditions on the ground in Libya and assess the feasibility for renewed US military presence as appropriate”. “The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable,” said US Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of US Africa Command.

“Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing US strategy.” On Saturday, the head of the GNA accused Haftar of “betraying” him after the latter launched his military offensive on Tripoli. In a televised speech, Fayez al-Sarraj said Haftar’s forces would meet firm resistance from forces loyal to the GNA.

“We have extended our hands towards peace but after the aggression that has taken place on the part of forces belonging to Haftar and his declaration of war against our cities and our capital ... he will find nothing but strength and firmness,” al-Sarraj said. He also warned of “a war without winners”. </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> The Libyan National Army (LNA) repelled the offensive of the forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA) on Tripoli airport, the LNA General Command press service director Khalifa Obeidi said on Monday.

"LNA repelled an armed attack by [GNA armed] groups… on Tripoli airport on Sunday morning," he said.

Obeidi noted that 15 GNA militants, including six mercenaries from Chad, were killed in the clash.

In April, Khalifa Haftar, the head of the LNA, launched an offensive to retake Tripoli from control of the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). The LNA has already recaptured a number of settlements near the capital and the Tripoli International Airport, located around 20 miles away from the city. The forces loyal to the GNA announced a counteroffensive, dubbed Volcano of Rage.

Since the overthrow and killing of Libya's long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been gripped by conflict. Libya is now divided between two governments, with the eastern part controlled by the LNA, and the western part governed by the UN-backed GNA. </s> TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - The U.N. secretary-general said he was “deeply concerned” after meeting eastern commander Khalifa Haftar in Libya on Friday to try to avert renewed civil war as forces advanced on Tripoli to challenge the internationally recognized government.

Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) said in the evening it had taken control of Tripoli international airport.

The thrust by the LNA, allied to a parallel administration based in the east, is a dangerous escalation of a power struggle that has dragged on since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

“I leave Libya with a heavy heart and deeply concerned. I still hope it is possible to avoid a bloody confrontation in and around Tripoli,” U.N. head Antonio Guterres said on Twitter.

“The U.N. is committed to facilitating a political solution and, whatever happens, the U.N. is committed to supporting the Libyan people.”

Al-Arabiya TV said Haftar told Guterres that the operation would continue until terrorism is defeated.

Tripoli is the ultimate prize for Haftar’s eastern parallel government. In 2014, he assembled former Gaddafi soldiers and in a three-year battle seized the main eastern city of Benghazi, then this year took the south with its oilfields.

The escalation surprised the United Nations. Guterres had been in the capital this week to help organize a national reconciliation conference planned for later this month.

But on Thursday LNA forces took Gharyan, about 80 km (50 miles) south of Tripoli after skirmishes with forces allied to Tripoli-based, U.N.-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

They further moved north coming as close as 40 km to Tripoli by taking the village of Suq al-Khamis after some fighting, a resident and an eastern military source said.

In the evening, the LNA said they had taken control of the areas of Qasr ben Ghashir and Wadi al-Rabie on the southern ouskirts of Tripoli, near the former Tripoli International Airport, closed since a city battle in 2014.

There was no independent confirmation, but a video posted online purportedly showed LNA fighters inside Qasr ben Ghashir.

They failed, however, to take a checkpoint about 30 km west of the capital in a bid to close the coastal road to Tunisia. An LNA-allied armed group withdrew overnight from so-called Gate 27, leaving it abandoned in the morning, a Reuters reporter said.

In another setback, forces allied to Tripoli took 145 LNA fighters prisoner in Zawiya, west of Tripoli, a western commander, Mohamed Alhudair, told Reuters. An LNA source confirmed 128 had been captured.

Sixty vehicles had also been seized, Alhudairi said.

Meanwhile armed groups allied to the U.N.-backed Tripoli government moved more machinegun-mounted pickups from the coastal city of Misrata to Tripoli to defend it against Haftar’s forces.

Guterres, who spent Thursday night in the heavily fortified U.N. compound in a Tripoli suburb, flew to Benghazi and drove to Haftar’s base, witnesses said.

He earlier went to Tobruk, another eastern city, to meet Aguila Saleh, president of the House of Representatives, which is also allied to Haftar.

“My aim remains the same: avoid a military confrontation,” Guterres earlier said on Twitter.

The offensive is a setback for the United Nations and Western countries trying to mediate between Serraj and Haftar, who met in Abu Dhabi last month to discuss a power-sharing deal.

The conference the United Nations wants to organize is aimed at forging agreement on a road map for elections to resolve the prolonged instability in Libya, an oil producer and transit point for refugees and migrants trekking across the Sahara with the aim of reaching Europe.

Haftar enjoys the backing of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which see him as a bulwark against Islamists and have supported him militarily, according to U.N. reports.

The UAE, however, joined Western countries in expressing its deep concern about the fighting.

Germany called an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council due to the military escalation.

Russia said it was not helping Haftar’s forces and it supported a negotiated political settlement that ruled out any new bloodshed.

Tunisia has tightened control on its border with Libya in response to the renewed conflict, the defense ministry said.

Former colonial power Italy, which lies across the Mediterranean from Libya and has been a destination for migrants fleeing the chaos at home, was very worried by the turn of events, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said.

“We need to throw water on the fire, not petrol on the fire. I hope that people, acting out of economic or business self-interest, are not looking for a military solution, which would be devastating,” Salvini said. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya, April 3 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar have been ordered to move to western Libya to fight militants, their media office said on Wednesday.

The deployment is likely to alarm the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, whose Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj has been negotiating over a power-sharing deal with a parallel administration in the east that is allied to Haftar.

A video released by the Libyan National Army (LNA) media offfice showed a convoy of armoured vehicles and pickup trucks mounted with heavy guns on the road.

"In fulfilment of his (Haftar) orders, several military units moved to the western region to purge the remaining terrorist groups located in their last hideouts," the LNA said in a statement with the video.

It gave no details but the area appears to be the coastal road linking the eastern city of Benghazi, the LNA main base, with Tripoli in western Libya.

A resident in Ras Lanuf, an oil town located on the coastal road, said tanks and military convoys were seen heading westwards in the direction of Sirte.

Sirte is in central Libya controlled by a force from the western city of Mistrata allied to the Tripoli administration.

In January, the LNA, which is loyal to Haftar, started a campaign to take control of the south and its oilfields.

The United Nations is holding a conference this month in the southwestern city of Ghadames to discuss a political solution to prepare the country for elections and to avoid a military showdown. (Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli, Writing by Ahmed Elumami, Editing by Ulf Laessing and Angus MacSwan) </s> BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar have moved forces toward western Libya in a possible mission to “liberate the homeland from “terrorism”, officials said on Wednesday, suggesting Tripoli was a desirable destination.

The deployment and rhetoric is likely to alarm the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, whose Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj has been negotiating over a power-sharing deal with a parallel administration in the east that is allied to Haftar.

Ahmed Mismari, a spokesman for the Libyan National Army (LNA) force controlling eastern Libya, did not say directly whether his force would move on Tripoli in western Libya controlled by the internationally recognized government opposing a parallel administration in the east.

But he said the LNA was gathering forces for a possible mission “to liberate the homeland from terrorism.”

“We expect the women of Tripoli to welcome the Libyan army like the women of Benghazi and Derna did,” he said, referring to two eastern cities which the LNA took by force.

He also called on young people in Tripoli to focus on the battle between LNA and Daesh, or Islamic State, in another hint that military action might be looming.

A video released by the LNA media office showed a convoy of armored vehicles and pickup trucks mounted with heavy guns on the road.

“In fulfillment of his (Haftar) orders, several military units moved to the western region to purge the remaining terrorist groups located in their last hideouts,” the LNA said in a statement with the video.

It gave no details but the area appears to be the coastal road linking the eastern city of Benghazi, the LNA main base, with Tripoli.

A resident in Ras Lanuf, an oil town located on the coastal road, said tanks and military convoys were seen heading westwards in the direction of Sirte.

Sirte is in central Libya controlled by a force from the western city of Mistrata allied to the Tripoli administration.

In January, the LNA, which is loyal to Haftar, started a campaign to take control of the south and its oilfields.

The United Nations is holding a conference this month in the southwestern city of Ghadames to discuss a political solution to prepare the country for elections and to avoid a military showdown. </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> • Battle for Tripoli is proceeding according to the operational plan, says LNA
• France of being behind Libya’s Tripoli war, accuses EU Parliament president

Libya, the imperialism-devastated oil-rich African country, is going through escalated armed conflict for the last few days.

The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, took control of the Yarmuk military camp south of Tripoli.

Flights at Mitiga International Airport were suspended and passengers were evacuated. No casualties were reported.

Tripoli International, an older airport, has also been a focal point for clashes in recent days. The airport has not been operating since 2014.

Fayez al-Serraj, Prime Minister of one of the two governments in Libya, has accused Haftar of attempting to carry out a coup.

At least 2,800 people have so far fled fighting around Tripoli.

The UN warns that those who remain risk being cut off from vital services because of the clashes.

International powers have started evacuating personnel from the country as the situation has deteriorated.

An official source said at least 25 people had been killed and 80 wounded so far, including civilians and fighters.

Haftar’s forces said they had lost at least 19 fighters.

Much of the international community have called for a ceasefire to hostilities.

The US military is among those to withdraw its supporting forces based in Libya, blaming the “complex and unpredictable” situation and “increased unrest” on the ground.

The UN is also due to pull out non-essential staff.

Residents of Tripoli have reportedly begun stocking up on food and fuel.

An LNA spokesperson said the battle for Tripoli was proceeding according to the operational plan as LNA units were approaching residential areas of the city.

Since the beginning of its military offensive to Tripoli on April 4, the LNA has seized several cities near Tripoli.

The Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) expressed “extreme concern” over migrants that are held in Libyan detention centers located in or near areas affected by the ongoing fighting between Libya’s rival forces.

The UN has condemned an air strike that closed the only functioning airport in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, on Monday.

Haftar, who already presides over the majority of Libyan territory, aims to take full control of the country. Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, leader of another government, accused Haftar of mounting a coup. Fayez al-Serraj said rebels would be met with force.

Field Marshal Haftar announced an offensive against Tripoli in a bid to oust “militias” from the city last week. On April 7, the forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) said that they were launching a counteroffensive, dubbed Volcano of Rage.

Since the beginning of the offensive, the LNA has already gained control over several cities near Tripoli and over Tripoli International Airport. The GNA later said its forces had retaken the airport, but the LNA refuted the claims.

LNA has declared a no-fly zone over the western parts of Libya, which are governed by the GNA, and has warned that all aircraft, apart from commercial flights, that breach the restrictions will be targeted by the LNA, the forces’ spokesperson, Ahmed Al-Mismari, said.

The no-fly zone includes aerial photography, the spokesperson tweeted late on Sunday.

Political turmoil has gripped Libya since imperialism deposed and killed Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, in 2011. Because of a civil conflict since 2011, there is no single central government in Libya, and separate powers control the country’s eastern and western parts. The Tobruk-based parliament, elected in 2014 and backed by the LNA, governs the east of Libya, while the GNA, established in 2015, controls Libya’s western parts from Tripoli.

In late 2015, the parties to the conflict signed a Libyan Political Agreement in the Moroccan city of Skhirat, outlining the creation of the GNA as the legitimate interim Libyan government. However, the deal was not fully implemented due to the eastern-based parliament’s disagreement over some of its provisions.

Ali Faraj Qatrani, the vice president of the GNA Presidential Council, announced his resignation after a rift with GNA head Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, Al-Arabiya TV channel reported on Monday.

Al-Arabiya report said: Qatrani decided to resign being dissatisfied with Fayez Sarraj making decisions on his own. Qatrani also stressed that the prime minister would make Libya split and suffer even more.

218 TV channel reported: Qatrani expressed support for military operations going on in Tripoli that are conducted by the LNA.

The Tripoli-based Presidential Council of Libya carries out the functions of supreme executive authority in the country and is presiding over the GNA. Sarraj is currently the head of both structures.

French President Emmanuel Macron and GNA Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj held a phone call on Monday to discuss the offensive on Tripoli.

The French president “harshly criticized the aggression against the capital, which puts civilians at risk”, said a GNA statement.

Sarraj promised to Macron he would “stand up to this aggression”, adding Haftar “has only one option, which is to immediately stop, go back to where he came from”.

France of being behind Libya’s Tripoli war

Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, has accused France of intervening in Libya to serve its interests after nearly four days of clashes in the suburbs of Tripoli.

Tajani, who is also vice president of the Italian party “Forza Italia”, commented on the Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini’s statements that the economic interests of a foreign country are behind the military operation launched on the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in an implicit reference to France.

“We have always said that France and Italy have separate interests in Libya, so much so, that Sarkozy was one of the strong supporters of overthrowing and then killing Muammar Gaddafi along with the Americans and the British,” Tajani told Italian media.

“France has made a dramatic historical mistake and was hoping for a stronger presence in Libya, but at the end, there is nothing but chaos and we have paid the price, through the continuing migration flows,” he added.

He further explained that what is happening now reflects Italy’s inability to be in the dominion of the situation in Libya, saying that this will open the door for new migration flows.

Tajani stressed that any new civil war in Libya will force hundreds of thousands of people to flee that country, warning that if stability is not established in Libya by this season, there will be 2.5 billion Africans in Europe by 2050.

“If nothing is done now, the situation will become unmanageable,” he added, warning that Italy and all Europe will be the first to pay the price, saying “This is why we must move now; Italy, unfortunately, has achieved nothing in Libya”.

The EU Parliament head’s remarks came on the eve of the EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg, where the military developments in Tripoli imposed itself forcefully on the meeting’s agenda, amid obvious and significant disagreements between France, Italy, and Britain.

A French diplomatic source, cited by AFP, on Monday has addressed the tense situation in Libya, reiterating its support for the GNA.

Speaking about the latest developments in Libya, a French diplomatic source, as quoted by AFP, has rejected allegations that Paris is on the side of Marshal Haftar, stressing that France wasn’t aware of his plans to start a military offensive targeting Tripoli.

As the source underlined, Paris is putting the GNA at the centre of the political process in Libya, explaining that they have tried to persuade Haftar not to launch a fresh military offensive.

Field Marshal Haftar was rehabilitated in 2016 by several countries, first and foremost France, especially because of his role in the fight against “terrorist groups” and illegal immigration.

On Saturday, French ambassador to Libya Béatrice le Fraper du Hellen reportedly met with the GNA Prime Minister Serraj to explain alleged France’s support for Haftar as a player in Libya’s political settlement

UN Chief calls for immediate halt to fighting

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, on Monday strongly condemned the military escalation near Tripoli and called for an immediate halt to the fighting.

Guterres’ appeal followed an air attack by the forces of Khalifa Haftar on the Mitiga airport east of the capital.

Earlier UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson Russell Geekie said that the number of displaced people fleeing from the fighting in Libya’s capital Tripoli had reached 3,400.

On Sunday, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) demanded from the conflicting sides to organize a two-hour humanitarian truce for evacuation of those injured during the LNA operation in Tripoli, but the conflicting sides refused to follow the UN request.

U.S. oil rises to highest point since Halloween

U.S. oil prices rose to their highest since Halloween on fears of a global supply squeeze due to fighting in Libya and the Trump administration’s decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization.

International benchmark Brent futures touched their strongest level since last November at $71.34 per barrel on Tuesday, and were still at $71.16 at 0057 GMT, up 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close.
Libyan National Army forces continue to advance on the Libyan capital Tripoli, capturing the city of Gharyan, with only light resistance reported. General Khalifa Haftar has ordered the LNA to seize control of Tripoli, prompting the Tripoli-based Presidential Council to declare a general mobilization.