Libya: new deadly air attacks in Tripoli

Tripoli after bombing by Marshal Khalifa Haftar's forces, May 9, 2020. Mahmud TURKIA / AFP

Text by: Mathieu Galtier

A hundred missiles fell on Tripoli this weekend, killing four civilians and severely damaging the airport. The attack was launched by the self-proclaimed Libyan Arab National Army (ANL) of Khalifa Haftar who has been trying to take the city since April 4, 2019.

Publicity

Read more

From our correspondent in Tunis,

From the top of their balcony, the Tripolitans could see all the weekend a plume of smoke rising above the Libyan capital. Khalifa Haftar's forces launched a hundred missiles in the highly residential neighborhoods of Abu Salim and Ben Gachir south of Tripoli. Four civilians, including a 5-year-old girl, were killed.

Mitiga Airport in the northwest was also hit hard on Saturday and Sunday. Two planes were destroyed, the passenger room and the runway were damaged. Of the ten fuel tanks, four have been destroyed and the other six are badly damaged, according to the national oil company. The airport has been closed for months due to frequent air strikes, but this is the first time the damage has been so significant. An exceptional flight was planned this weekend to bring Libyans stranded abroad because of the coronavirus.

The UN mission deplored "  a spectacle that has become very familiar but terrifying  ". A condemnation that the government of national union of Tripoli, recognized by the UN, criticizes because it does not name Khalifa Haftar as the direct person in charge of these abuses. Since March 2 and the resignation of Ghassan Salamé, the United Nations has still not managed to agree on a new head of the mission.

► Read also: Marshal Haftar pretends a "mandate of the people" to lead Libya

Newsletter With the Daily Newsletter, find the headlines directly in your mailbox

Subscribe

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Libya

On the same subject

Libya: Marshal Haftar's aviation bombs Misrata

Libya: dozens of jihadists released in two western cities

Fighting in Libya: the balance of power seems to be reversed in favor of the GNA