TRIPOLI, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The east-based army of Libya on Tuesday announced launching airstrikes on positions of the rival UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces in the city of Sirte, some 50 km east of the capital Tripoli.
The airstrikes killed two of the UN-backed government forces and injured three others, Taha Hadid, the spokesman of Sirte’s Protection and Security Force, said in a statement.
The east-based army’s information office said the “air force attacked positions of the Misrata militias (UN-backed government forces) near the power plant of Sirte.”
The Protection and Security Force of Sirte is a security service of the UN-backed government formed shortly after its forces defeated Daesh militants more than three years ago in the city that saw the birth and death of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Following the attack, GNA in Tripoli declared a state of emergency and mobilization in the north-central city of Sirte.
All troops of the militia connected to the UN-backed unity government were called to duty, said a statement from the security and protection force in Sirte, affiliated to the GNA.
“Any attack on the city will mean a declaration of war and its consequences will turn into a disaster,” said the statement, adding that Haftar’s forces took provocative steps recurrently.
The eastern army has been leading a military campaign since early April in and around the capital Tripoli, attempting to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government.
Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, and more than 120,000 civilians fled their homes away from the violence. — NNN-AGENCIES
