Libya .. repelled an attack on Tripoli led by "Russian mercenaries" and renewed shelling on Misrata

The United Nations Mission in Libya (UNMIL) condemned the recent air strikes on Misrata airport (western Libya), while a new attack by retired Major General Khalifa Hifter was repulsed on one of the axes in Tripoli led by "Russian mercenaries". (West of the capital).

"Following media reports of air strikes on Misrata civil airport, the UN mission warns that attacks on civilian installations and infrastructure are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law," the UN mission in Libya said in a statement late on Sunday.

"The mission calls for an immediate cessation of these senseless attacks, especially against the only remaining civilian airport in western Libya, which is used by millions of Libyans."

Meanwhile, a military source affiliated with the internationally recognized government of al-Wefaq government in Tripoli said its forces repelled an attack by Hifter's forces on the Azizia axis (south of Tripoli).

The source added that Hifter's forces launched a ground attack led by mercenaries from Russia, backed by air cover of foreign air, as described.

The source denied Hifter forces control of new positions south of Tripoli, and confirmed the arrival of reinforcements from the military areas belonging to the government of reconciliation.

In the meantime, a plane belonging to the forces of Hifter launched several airstrikes targeting the Air Academy in the city of Misrata, while another aircraft bombed Mitiga civilian airport, east of Tripoli.

Bomb an equestrian school
Another Hifter aircraft bombed an equestrian school in the Janzour area, wounding three people, including a child.

On Saturday, the Wefaq government accused an "Emirates pilot" of bombing Misrata International Airport in support of Hifter's forces. The Foreign Ministry in the Accord government said it had lodged a formal protest with the UN Security Council over the bombing of foreign airports by Mitiga and Misrata by foreign-backed forces.

Misrata International Airport is the only one operating in western Libya, with Mitiga International Airport continuing to be closed for the second month after being hit by rockets on September 1, injuring civilians and injuring a passenger plane and runway.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salameh, has on several occasions expressed the Mission's condemnation of the repeated strikes on Mitiga and Misrata airports, stressing that their continued targeting amounts to a "war crime".

Since April 4, Hifter's forces have staged a faltering offensive to take control of the capital Tripoli, the seat of the Wefaq government.

The Times newspaper said two days ago that dozens of what it called "Russian mercenaries" were killed in an air strike in Libya in the past few days.

The newspaper said in a report that hundreds of Russian mercenaries recruited by the group "Wagner" Russian security to fight with the forces of Hifter, although Moscow denies any military role in Libya.

The newspaper quoted the site of the Russian investigation "Medusa" that about 35 Russians were killed last month when the government forces of Wefaq targeted sites in the west of Libya.