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Libya: Two expats killed in raid by Haftar forces in Tripoli

March 24, 2020 at 3:02 am

Passengers are pictured outside Mitiga International Airport in the capital Tripoli after the airport was closed following an air strike on 8 April, 2019 [MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images]

Two expatriate workers have been killed and a citizen wounded in a raid by Khalifa Haftar militias, on the outskirts of Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli.

This was announced by the forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA) on Monday in a statement published by the Media Office of the Volcano of Rage Operation on Facebook.

The brief statement indicated that the artillery shelling, carried out by the Haftar forces in the vicinity of Mitiga International Airport, resulted in the deaths of two expatriate workers (without specifying their nationalities) and the wounding of one Libyan citizen.

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The statement added that the shelling also resulted in damage to: “Private property and vehicles in the vicinity of Mitiga, in a renewed violation of the ceasefire, despite the deceptive announcement made by the spokesman for the war criminal, Haftar, about a false armistice.”

Bloody Haftar - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Bloody Haftar – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Earlier on Monday, the GNA forces announced that two civilians had been killed by rocket-propelled grenades fired by the Haftar forces at a house in Ain Zara, south of Tripoli.

The statement also confirmed that the militias killed a woman and her nephew while conveying that: “The number of civilian casualties has reached 11 – five deceased and six wounded – since the deceptive announcement made by the spokesman for the Haftar forces about a false ceasefire.”

On Monday, the Haftar forces targeted Mitiga International Airport again, which had earlier been shut down, with rocket-propelled grenades, despite the armistice.

A few days ago, the United Nations, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, the US, and Algeria called on all parties to the Libyan conflict to adhere to a humanitarian truce to help the government confront the threat of the coronavirus.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres directed all the parties in Libya to: “Unify their efforts in facing the threat posed by COVID-19 and ensuring an unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid throughout the country.”

The Haftar forces have been violating the ceasefire on a daily basis by launching attacks on Tripoli and the GNA headquarters, as part of a military operation that has been taking place since 4 April, 2019.

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