Forces loyal to renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar on Friday carried out airstrikes on several positions, including the parliament building, in capital Tripoli, where Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) is based.
"The airstrikes targeted the Rixos building in central Tripoli, which houses the GNA-affiliated House of Representatives," a local source told Anadolu Agency (AA).
In a subsequent statement, the GNA's Interior Ministry condemned the attack, saying it should be "added to the long list of war crimes perpetrated by Haftar's forces." It went on to urge the international community to "shoulder its responsibility for this aggression against Libya's capital, which threatens the safety and security of civilians."
On April 4, Haftar, who is affiliated with a rival government based in eastern Libya, launched a wide-ranging campaign to capture Tripoli. Haftar's push on Tripoli in Libya's northwest is the latest turn in a cycle of factional violence and chaos dating back to the ouster of former President Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 and NATO's aerial operations. The fighting, which has left 454 people dead and 2,154 injured, reached a stalemate, with neither side able to make substantial progress. Some 70,000 people have been displaced because of the fighting.
Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since 2011 when a NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of Gadhafi after more than four decades in power. The country's stark political divisions have since yielded two rival seats of power, one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli and a host of heavily armed militia groups. Haftar is not recognized by the international community, as the elected parliament of the country is centered in Tripoli.
