Libyan Army continues strikes on Al-Watiya airbase

TRIPOLI, Libya

The Libyan Army struck down militias loyal to renegade commander Khalifa Haftar in Al-Watiya airbase, military sources said on Monday.

According to a statement by the Libyan government-led Operation Volcano of Rage, the army carried out an air operation targeting Al-Watiya airbase, located southwest of the capital Tripoli and controlled by Haftar’s forces.

A military vehicle launching an attack was hit during the operation, it added.

Meanwhile, in another statement, Muhammed Kununu, the military spokesman for the government, said six air operations targeted the same location.

The attacks came hours after the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Tripoli, saying they "may amount to war crimes."

Haftar, the leader of illegal armed forces in eastern Libya, has intensified attacks on civilians since the beginning of May as the Libyan Army recently gained an advantage and inflicted severe losses on his militants.

The government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence. It launched Operation Peace Storm on March 26 to counter attacks on the capital.

Following the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya's government was founded in 2015 under a UN-led political deal.

*Writing by Fahri Aksut