Gulsen Topcu
15 January 2020•Update: 15 January 2020
TRIPOLI
Forces loyal to renegade commander Khalifa Haftar launched missile strikes to the south of Libya's capital, the military spokesman for the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) said late Tuesday.
Muhammed Kununu said in a statement that the Salah al-Din and Ramla regions south of the capital were hit by missiles, according to the media office of the Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) operation.
Pro-Haftar mercenary soldiers deployed in the region and drones operated by the United Arab Emirates flew over Tripoli, Kununu said.
He said government forces are strong enough to respond to the Haftar militias and called on people who migrated from the region not to return to their homes during the clashes.
On Jan. 12, the warring sides in the Libyan conflict announced a ceasefire in response to a call by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and they gathered Monday in Moscow to sign an agreement aimed at ending hostilities and starting political dialogue.
Following talks in Moscow, the head of the GNA, Fayez al-Sarraj, signed a ceasefire deal late Monday, but Haftar left for Libya early Tuesday without signing it after asking for more time to consider it.
Aguila Saleh Issa, the speaker of the pro-Haftar House of Representatives in the eastern city of Tobruk, said "the ceasefire in Libya is over and the war will resume."
Since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the UAE, and the other in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.
