CAIRO
Egypt has denied reports that its warplanes bombed sites belonging to Islamist militias in Libya's eastern Benghazi city.
Presidency spokesman Alaa Youssef dismissed media reports that Egyptian warplanes had struck targets in Libya, according to the official MENA news agency.
Forces loyal to former army chief-of-staff Khalifa Haftar also denied Egyptian involvement in the airstrikes against Islamists in Benghazi.
"Reports about the participation of Egyptian warplanes in attacks on sites of extremist Islamist groups are untrue," Pro-Haftar air commander Saqr al-Garrouchi said.
Associated Press news agency earlier quoted two unnamed Egyptian officials as saying that Egyptian planes had struck sites of Islamist militias in eastern Libya.
The two officials said that the strikes "were part of an Egypt-led operation against armed militias in Libya that also included Libyan ground forces".
But Libyan lawmaker Tareq al-Garrouchi said that the Egyptian planes that allegedly struck the Islamist sites were flown by Libyan pilots.
"The Egyptian government has given four warplanes to the Libyan army command two weeks ago as part of Egypt's support for the Libyan army in fighting terrorism," he told Anadolu Agency.
In August, Islamist militia leaders accused Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of launching airstrikes against their camps in Libyan capital Tripoli.
Both countries, however, denied any involvement in the attacks.
Libya has been dogged by political instability since the 2011 ouster and death of longstanding ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Ever since, rival militias have locked horns, bringing violence to Libya's main cities.
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: the 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 – continues to convene in capital Tripoli.
The two parliaments support two different governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
By Moataz al-Majbari
www.aa.com.tr/en
