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6 fighters of Haftar militias surrender to Libya government forces at Al-Wattia airbase

May 9, 2020 at 11:32 am

Libyan army troops clashes against the illegitimate armed forces of Khalifa Haftar as “Peace Storm” operation continue in the Salahaddin region, south of the capital, Tripoli, Libya on 2 May, 2020 [Amru Salahuddien/Anadolu Agency]

The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) forces announced on Friday morning the surrender of six fighters of the militias of the coupist Major General Khalifa Haftar at Al-Wattia airbase (140 kilometres west of the capital of Tripoli), the headquarters of the militia’s concentrations.

This came in a brief statement published by the information centre of the internationally-recognised GNA’s Operation Volcano of Anger on its official Facebook page.

The statement confirmed that the fighters started surrendering to the forces of the western military region under the command of Major General Osama Al-Juwaili.

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On Thursday, Libyan GNA forces announced that their aircraft had carried out 12 airstrikes in the past 24 hours, targeting concentrations of Haftar militias and fuel trucks in the western region of the country.

This came in a statement by Libyan Army Spokesman Mohamed Gnounou, published by the information centre of the GNA’s Operation Volcano of Anger.

“Nine strikes targeted 13 fighters of Haftar’s terrorist militias, including Mohamed Al-Dohair, who is wanted by the (Libyan) attorney general in several criminal cases,” expressed Gnounou.

He added that the strikes resulted in the destruction of five armed vehicles at Al-Wattia airbase.

Al-Wattia airbase is the largest military base in the region, extending from the west of the capital of Tripoli to the Tunisian border. Haftar’s militias have controlled it for six years and made it a point for mobilising forces coming from the Libyan east. The airbase has also been used to bomb a number of areas of Tripoli.

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Gnounou pointed out that: “The other three strikes targeted three fuel trucks in the Shweref area (centre) that were on their way to Tarhuna (90 kilometres southeast of Tripoli) to supply Haftar’s militias.”

Since 4 April 2019, Haftar’s militias have been waging attacks to take over Tripoli, the headquarters of the GNA, but incurred heavy losses of people and equipment.