Libya: Haftar militias strike hospital in Tripoli

ANKARA

Militias loyal to Libya’s renegade commander Khalifa Haftar launched a rocket attack Thursday on the capital Tripoli.

Tripoli Central Hospital and some civilian settlements were targeted, according to a statement by the press center of the Libyan Army-led Operation Volcano of Rage.

The country's Health Ministry said 14 civilians were injured.

It said the hospital will not be able to serve people due to the attack, so patients will be badly affected.

It noted that the situation poses a major threat to the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

The militias, however, have denied carrying out the attack.

According to the United Nations, since the beginning of this year, seven health centers in the country have been struck 12 times.

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.

Libya's 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 agreement.

*Writing by Fahri Aksut