The truce is threatened with collapse. The Al-Wefaq army expels Haftar forces from the area south of Misurata

The forces of the Libyan National Accord government recovered Abu Qurain, southeast of Misurata, from the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter, who simultaneously carried out attacks in the capital, Tripoli, which heralds the collapse of the ceasefire in effect since the 12th of this month.

Yesterday Haftar forces launched a three-pronged attack on Abu Qurain area (approximately 120 km from Misrata) and managed to control parts of it.

However, the central forces of the Al-Wefaq government launched a counter-offensive and were able, within a short time, to recover Abu Qurain, which is located halfway between the cities of Misrata and Sirte, and chased the forces withdrawing to the Al-Wushka area.

Pictures and video clips released by the military media of Al-Wefaq forces showed the escape of Haftar gunmen, who left behind vehicles and burned bodies, while other pictures of those said to be Sudanese prisoners of nationality.

Libyan sources reported to Al-Jazeera that four government forces from Al-Wefaq were killed and 18 wounded in the Abu Qurain recovery operation, while loyalists of the so-called Operation Karamah released the names of 12 militants of Haftar's forces who were killed.

The spokesman for the Al-Wefaq government forces, Colonel Tayyar Muhammad Qanunu, said that Haftar's forces proved that they were not trusted by any party after their ground assault on the Abu Qurain and Qaddiyah regions, east of Misrata, supported by foreign aircraft.

Kanounou added that Al-Wefaq forces destroyed a number of armed vehicles, controlled Egyptian-made ammunition and equipment, and arrested members of Haftar's forces, including mercenaries, stressing that the rest of them had fled, leaving the bodies of their dead burned inside the military vehicles.

In Tripoli, the forces of the retired Major General yesterday bombed the Maitika airport, wounding two employees, and damaging the runway.

It also targeted other areas of the city, including the Hadaba project and Abu Salim neighborhood, and there were limited clashes in the southern suburbs, and Al-Wefaq forces talked about the capture of a member of the attacking forces near the transport camp.

Armistice breach
Commenting on yesterday's developments, the Al-Wefaq government said it would reconsider its participation in any future dialogues, in the face of violations by Haftar's forces of the armistice declared by Turkey and Russia two weeks ago.

The Al-Wefaq government added in a statement that yesterday, Haftar forces shelled the Arada, Friday Market and Mutaika airports in Tripoli, and simultaneously carried out a ground attack on the Abu Qurain and Qaddiyah regions with the support of foreign aircraft.

The statement held the truce sponsors responsible for the aggressor’s failure to abide by the truce, and called on the countries that participated in the Berlin conference to assume their responsibilities towards the repeated violations of the truce by what they described as the aggressor militia.

For his part, Haftar Forces spokesman Ahmed Al-Mesmari said that they attend international conferences on Libya only with the aim of listening to the international community, and they are continuing the war.

Al-Mismari stressed in a press conference in Benghazi (eastern Libya) that they are not looking for political solutions, and that the solution lies in the continuation of fighting and war.

For its part, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya condemned the targeting of Tripoli's Maitika airport again yesterday, and said that the bombing of civilian targets, especially public facilities, is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.

She noted that the frequent targeting of the airport has deprived about two million residents of the capital from their only air port.

The European Union's security and foreign policy official, Josip Borel, also expressed - in a telephone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoوlu - concern about the security situation around the Libyan capital and the difficulties preventing the ceasefire and the start of a political settlement to this conflict.