Libya captures 25 Haftar-affiliated gunmen

Libyan government forces yesterday announced that they had capturing 25 gunmen affiliated to Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar’s militia south of the capital, Tripoli.

A statement issued by “Operation Volcano of Rage’s” media centre said that the military forces of the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) yesterday captured “25 fighters affiliated to the war criminal retired Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.”

The statement indicated that among the gunmen were “mercenaries”, noting that they had been captured while trying to infiltrate the capital.

The GNA also announced that three civilians were killed after a warplane bombed the Sawani area south of Tripoli.

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The shelling targeted an iron factory and warehouse and the three victims included the owner of the factory, his son and a driver.

In early April, General Haftar launched the “Flood of Dignity” campaign on regions in the west of the country, including the capital Tripoli. The move was widely condemned by the international community, who warned that it could plunge the country into active civil war once again.

Haftar visited stalwart supporter Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in Cairo in mid-April; the

eastern warlord is also backed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel, with France and Russia frequently

accused of quietly supporting the Benghazi-based government, despite publicly endorsing UNresolutions.