TRIPOLI (Reuters) - An air strike on the southern Libyan town of Murzuq has killed more than 30 people, residents said on Monday.

Eastern Libyan forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar confirmed a strike late on Sunday on the town deep in Libya's south but denied they had targeted any civilians. </s> A drone air strike by eastern Libyan forces on the southern Libyan town of Murzuq has killed at least 43 people, a local official said on Monday.

The eastern Libyan National Army force (LNA) forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar confirmed a strike late on Sunday on the town, but denied they had targeted any civilians.

The Tripoli-based internationally recognised government opposing Haftar said dozens were killed and wounded.

Reached by telephone, Murzuq municipal council member Mohamed Omar told Reuters: "The air strike resulted in 43 killed and 51 wounded. This is only an initial toll of casualties."

The LNA had at the start of the year taken Murzuq as part of an offensive to control the oil-producing south. But it later moved out to concentrate forces north where it has been trying to take the capital Tripoli in a four-month campaign.

The LNA said in a statement its strike had targeted "Chadian opposition fighters", a phrase that usually refers to Tebu tribesmen opposing them in the area. </s> According to media reports, an air strike on the southern Libyan town of Murzuq has killed more than 30 people.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) confirmed a strike but denied they had targeted any civilians.

The LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, began the second stage of its offensive on the Libyan capital Tripoli in July.

Tripoli, which is controlled by the Government of National Accord (GNA), has been under attack from the forces of Libyan National Army, commanded by Khalifa Haftar since April.

Libya has been engulfed in an armed conflict between opposing political forces since Western-backed militants murdered the country's former leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. </s> TRIPOLI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A drone air strike by eastern Libyan forces on the southern Libyan town of Murzuq has killed at least 43 people, a local official said on Monday.

The attack is the second major air strike blamed on the eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar after at least 44 migrants were killed in June, when a detention centre in a suburb of the capital Tripoli was hit.

The LNA confirmed a strike late on Sunday on Murzuq, but denied it had targeted any civilians. The LNA had also denied it had hit the detention centre but acknowledged increased air strikes on the capital as part of an offensive to seize Tripoli - home to the internationally recognised government - part of the chaos in the oil producer since 2011.

"The air strike resulted in 43 killed and 51 wounded. This is only an initial toll of casualties," Murzuq municipal council member Mohamed Omar told Reuters in a phone interview.

He said the done strike had targeted a town hall meeting where residents were holding discussions after days of clashes between rival tribesmen.

The LNA seized Murzuq at the start of this year as part of an offensive to control the oil-producing south. It later moved out to concentrate forces north where it has been trying to take the capital Tripoli in a four-month campaign.

The LNA said in a statement its strike had targeted "Chadian opposition fighters," a phrase that usually refers to Tebu tribesmen opposing them in the area.

Haftar's LNA, allied to a parallel government based in eastern Libya, has seen its advance on Tripoli held up by robust defences on the outskirts of the capital, and said it would start heavy air strikes after "traditional means" of war had been exhausted.

Haftar is backed militarily by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which see him as a bulwark against Islamists, a narrative supported by some Western countries that have been reluctant to openly criticize the former general under Muammar Gaddafi, who was toppled and killed in 2011.

The European Union said in a statement that the Murzuq strike had "claimed the lives of civilians" and those committing war crimes needed to be brought to justice. But it did not mention the LNA.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement issued a day after the strikes that it was "extremely concerned by reports on the continuation of acts of violence in Murzuq, including a number of air strikes." It did not mention the LNA.

Haftar's attempt to capture Tripoli has derailed U.N. attempts to broker an end to the chaos that has prevailed in Libya since the NATO-backed overthrow of Gaddafi. </s> Yosri al-Jamal, Reuters | A member of the Libyan internationally recognised government forces is seen during a fight with Eastern forces, in southern Tripoli, Libya June 22, 2019.

A drone air strike by eastern Libyan forces on the southern Libyan town of Murzuq has killed at least 43 people, a local official said on Monday.

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The attack is the second major air strike blamed on the eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar after at least 44 migrants were killed in June when a detention centre in a suburb of the capital Tripoli was hit.

The LNA confirmed a strike late on Sunday on Murzuq, but denied it had targeted any civilians. The LNA had also denied it had hit the detention centre but acknowledged increased air strikes on the capital.

The internationally recognised government based in Tripoli opposing Haftar said dozens were killed and wounded in Murzuq.

Reached by telephone, Murzuq municipal council member Mohamed Omar told Reuters: "The air strike resulted in 43 killed and 51 wounded. This is only an initial toll of casualties."

The LNA seized Murzuq at the start of this year as part of an offensive to control the oil-producing south. But it later moved out to concentrate forces north where it has been trying vto take the capital Tripoli in a four-month campaign.

The LNA said in a statement its strike had targeted "Chadian opposition fighters", a phrase that usually refers to Tebu tribesmen opposing them in the area.

Haftar's LNA, allied to a parallel government based in eastern Libya, has seen its advance on Tripoli held up by robust defences on the outskirts of the capital, and said it would start heavy air strikes after "traditional means" of war had been exhausted.

On Sunday, the U.N. Libya mission (UNSMIL) condemned in a statement "the repeated indiscriminate shelling" of Tripoli's only functioning airport after several strikes in the past days.

The United Nations did not name the LNA but said the attacks had "continued unabated" since the start of the LNA offensive on Tripoli.

There was no immediate U.N. comment on the Murzuq strike.

Haftar's attempt to capture Tripoli has derailed U.N. attempts to broker an end to the chaos that has prevailed in Libya since the NATO-backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

(REUTERS) </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. </s> An airstrike on the southern Libyan town of Murzuq has killed at least 42 people and injured dozens more, the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) said on Monday.

The attack on Sunday, which the GNA blamed on eastern forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, came as Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) continues its efforts to take control of the country. The two sides have increasingly used aerial attacks in recent weeks after fighting stalled on the ground.

The LNA confirmed responsibility for the airstrike in Murzuq late on Sunday, but denied targeting civilians, saying the raid was aimed at "Chadian opposition fighters," a phrase usually used by the LNA to describe Tebu tribesmen fighting against them.

Read more: Could Libya be Russia's new Syria?

The attack is the second major one to be blamed on the LNA after at least 44 migrants were killed in June in an air raid on a detention center in a suburb of the capital, Tripoli, in the north of the country. At the time, the LNA also denied targeting the detention center, though it admitted stepping up its airstrikes in the capital.

Haftar, who is allied with a rival government based in eastern Libya, has been fighting to force pro-GNA forces from Tripoli since April, after taking control of large areas of the oil-producing south, including Murzuq, earlier in the year. His advance on the city, where the GNA has its administrative seat, has been slowed by dogged resistance by government forces.

Read more: Libya's refugees caught in the crossfire of war

In another incident highlighting Libya's conflict-ridden situation, a Libyan airliner on Sunday narrowly escaped being hit by bombing as it landed at Tripoli's only functioning airport, Mitiga International Airport, according to aviation officials.

The plane was carrying 124 passengers on a flight from Libya's second-most populous city of Benghazi, the airport's management wrote on Facebook.

The bombing forced the airport to stop its operations and reroute flights to Misrata, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) further south, until late Sunday night.

The UN on Sunday condemned the "repeated indiscriminate shelling targeting Mitiga airport, the only indispensable functioning airport available for use by millions of civilians" and for aid deliveries in Tripoli. The airport, just east of of the capital, is a former military air base that has been used for civilian flights since Tripoli's international airport was severely damaged during fighting in 2014.

Haftar has accused pro-GNA forces of still using the airport for military purposes.

Libya has fallen into chaos since a 2011 uprising that toppled and killed long-ruling dictator Moammar Gadhafi. A plethora of armed groups is now vying for control of the country or various regions of it.

The World Health Organization says that nearly 1,100 people have died in the fighting between the GNA and the LNA forces since April. More than 100,000 civilians have been forced to leave their homes, it says.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> (CNN) An airstrike that hit a migrant detention center near the Libyan capital early Wednesday has left at least 40 people dead and another 200 injured, a health official in the country's UN-recognized government told CNN.

"I expect the death toll to go up given that there are critically injured people being treated in hospital," Malek Merset, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said.

Satellite images taken of the detention center in Tajoura, a coastal town east of Tripoli, showed extensive damage to several buildings in the complex. Photos taken on the ground captured piles of rubble left where structures had been, while emergency crews worked to remove both the wounded and the dead.

Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) condemned the "horrific crime," blaming renegade Gen. Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army (LNA), whose forces have been waging an assault on the capital for the last two months.

The LNA has denied responsibility for the attack, instead accusing Tripoli-based "militias" -- who are largely allied to the GNA -- of orchestrating a "conspiracy" to "tarnish" their reputation.

Read More </s> A spokesman for east Libyan armed forces said on Friday that as many as 141 people had been killed a day earlier in an attack on a southern air base. Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the eastern-based Libyan National Army , said 103 of those killed in the attack at Brak Al-Shati air base were LNA troops stationed in the area.

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A Libyan National Army airstrike on the southern Libyan town of Murzuk reportedly kills at least 43 people and injures 51 others, according to local officials. An LNA spokesperson says the raid had targeted "Chadian mercenaries".