The forces of the retired Libyan Major General, Khalifa Hafter, on Friday bombed a residential area in Tripoli, causing civilian casualties, hours after they lost important sites south of the capital.
The Ministry of Health in the Al-Wefaq government said that three civilians - including two women - were killed and others wounded by bombardment by Grad rockets carried out by Haftar forces on the Zenata region, south of Tripoli, a densely populated neighborhood west of the Souk El-Jumaa area.
A spokesman for the ministry said that the bodies of the dead had been shredded, while a medical source expected the number of victims to rise.
In addition to the loss of life, the bombing resulted in material damage to the residents' property and cars.
Yesterday, the United Nations Mission in Libya expressed grave concern at the continuing indiscriminate attacks, targeting civilians in populated areas, and the increasing number of casualties among them, as a result of the use of rockets, artillery and killings by Haftar forces.
Haftar forces again targeted civilians in the southern suburbs of Tripoli, after yesterday losing most of their positions in the Al-Hadba project area, following an attack by forces of the Al-Wefaq government, which also managed to besiege the Hamza camp, from which gunmen loyal to the missile excavation are fired at civilians.
Raids for concord
After the progress made in the Al-Hadba project area, Al-Wefaq forces bombed a fuel truck and two armed vehicles belonging to Haftar forces southeast of the city of Tarhuna, as part of a process that began recently to cut military supplies heading towards Tarhuna.
The Al-Wefaq government planes also bombed vehicles at the Al-Wattia Air Force Base, which is located southwest of Tripoli, and where gunmen loyal to Haftar are holed up, killing five people in their ranks, according to activists.
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Simultaneously, the rebels of the southern city of Sabha declared their adherence to the legitimacy of the Al-Wefaq government, their rejection of the military rule, and their condemnation of Haftar's attack on the capital and its shelling of civilians.
This came in a video statement published by local media yesterday, which is the first statement from a city controlled by Haftar militias. The statement included the signature of the city's notables and leaders of civil society as well as the rebels.
Turkey and the Emirates
Politically, and against the background of Haftar's announcement on Wednesday evening of dropping the Skhirat Agreement and authorizing himself to govern Libya, Turkey responded to a statement issued by the UAE on what it described as Turkish military intervention in Libya.
In response to the Emirati statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Abu Dhabi of supporting what it described as coup plotters in Libya, in reference to Haftar.
"The actions of the UAE, which hinder international peace, security and stability, not only in Libya, but in the entire region, including Yemen, Syria and Africa, are all well known to the international community," said ministry spokesman Hami Asqawi - in a statement.
"We call on the leadership of the UAE to desist from taking a hostile stance towards our country, and to know its size," he added, noting that resolving the Libyan crisis depends on the support of the National Accord government and commitment to the political agreement signed in 2015.
The UAE Foreign Ministry issued a statement renewing its support for Haftar shortly after he announced dropping the political process and installing himself as a military ruler of the country, while the United Nations and major international powers rejected the statements of the retired Libyan Major General and stressed that the Skhirat agreement would not be affected.
Turkey supports the internationally recognized national reconciliation government, and last November it signed a military cooperation agreement to help it fend off Haftar's attack on the capital nearly 13 months ago.