Libyan army neutralizes 10 members of Haftar militia

By Mucahit Aydemir

TRIPOLI

At least 10 members of warlord Khalifa Haftar’s militia were neutralized Sunday in shelling by the Libyan army.

The army destroyed four observation posts on the Mashru front in southern Tripoli, killing or wounding a total of 18 militia and mercenaries, the media office of the government-led Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) operation said in a statement.

On Saturday, at least six civilians were killed when Haftar’s militia launched rocket attacks on Mitiga International Airport in the capital.

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 Gozde Bayar