TRIPOLI, Jan 27 (NNN-Xinhua) — Clashes between Libya’s UN-backed government forces and the east-based army in Abugrein town, some 140 km south of the city of Misrata, killed 24 troops and injured more than 100 from both parties.
“The battle in Abugrein town killed 12 and injured 55 of our troops,” a source of the east-based army said.
The UN-backed government’s forces also said that 12 of their fighters were killed and more than 50 others injured during the clashes.
The UN-backed government said Sunday that they have repelled an attack by the rival east-based army in Abugrein town and destroyed and seized a number of armored vehicles of the east-based army.
The east-based army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since April 2019 in an attempt to take over Tripoli from the UN-backed government.
The two rival factions, which agreed to a cease-fire deal on Jan 12, have been accusing each other of breaching the truce.
Separately, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned attacks on the capital Tripoli’s Mitiga airport, as the armed conflict between the eastern-based army and the UN-backed government continues.
“UNSMIL condemns in the strongest possible terms the attack against Mitiga Airport, by two grad missiles, which resulted in the injury of at least two civilians, and damage to the tarmac and a number of buildings,” UNMSIL tweeted.
“UNMSIL reiterates that attacks against civilian targets, especially public facilities, represent a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and that repeated attacks against Mitiga Airport deprived two million residents in the capital of their only functioning airport,” the mission added.
The UN-backed government’s forces said the eastern-based army attacked the airport.
The east-based army on Wednesday announced the reactivation of the no-fly zone over western Libya, where the Mitiga International Airport locates.
The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign since April 2019 in an attempt to take over Tripoli from the UN-backed government.
The conflict killed and injured thousands of people, and displaced more than 150,000 civilians. — NNN-XINHUA
