TRIPOLI
Forces loyal to renegade Libyan general Khalifa Haftar on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a number of airstrikes carried out one day earlier against a camp belonging to the Islamist-leaning "Libya Shield" militia in capital Tripoli.
"A military aircraft attacked a weapons depot upon instructions from "Operation Dignity," Haftar spokesman Mohamed Hegazi told Anadolu Agency.
He insisted that pro-Haftar forces were capable of striking military sites across Libya.
A local official said Monday that "unidentified" planes had carried out airstrikes against a camp associated with the "Libya Shield" militia in Tripoli.
"Planes believed to be from neighboring countries carried out attacks on the [militia's] 8th Battalion," the official told Anadolu Agency.
At least 18 people were injured in the strikes.
The official believed the planes were not Libyan "because of the accuracy of the strikes."
Last month, militia leaders accused Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of launching airstrikes against their camps in Tripoli. Both countries, however, denied any involvement in the attacks.
"Libya Shield," widely seen as an Islamist militia, recently launched a campaign – dubbed "Dawn of Libya" – with the stated aim of retaking government buildings and palaces that had belonged to the ousted Muammar Gaddafi regime from militiamen who have occupied the sites for the past three years.
Libya has recently witnessed heavy fighting between a loosely organized national army and militias that hung onto their weapons following the bloody 2011 uprising that ended with Gaddafi's ouster and death.
Ever since, rival militias have been locking horns, bringing violence to Libya's main cities, including capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi– while the Libyan government has appeared totally absent from the scene.
The sharp divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions.
Two assemblies currently vie for legislative authority:a newly-elected House of Representatives, which convenes in the eastern city of Tobruk; and the General National Congress, which – even though its mandate ended in August – convenes in capital Tripoli.
The two parliaments support two different governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
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