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Haftar's forces kill six irregular migrants in Libya

April 24, 2019 at 8:36 am

Illegal migrants sit inside the Ganzour shelter after being transferred from in the airport road due to fighting in the Libyan capital Tripoli on 5 September, 2018 [MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images]

Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) on Tuesday accused forces loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar of killing irregular migrants.

Mustafa el-Mecei, the spokesman for the GNA’s Burkan al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) military operation, told Anadolu Agency that Haftar’s forces attacked a center for irregular migrants in southern Tripoli’s Qasr bin Ghashir district.

He said six irregular migrants were killed and 11 others were wounded, adding their nationalities were not clear because they did not possess any official documents.

He noted that the attack occurred outside of a GNA-controlled region and the GNA would deliver a report on the incident to the relevant parties.

READ: Migrants in Libyan jail were reportedly seriously wounded in shooting

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since long-serving leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a bloody NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

Since then, the country has seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya, to which Haftar is affiliated, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN recognition.

General Khalifa Haftar taking over Libya - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

General Khalifa Haftar taking over Libya – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]