Tripoli govt: Targeting Mitiga airport was 'war crime'

TRIPOLI

Libya's Tripoli-based government denounced the attack on the Mitiga International Airport as a "war crime," according to a statement issued by the government's Presidential Council.

Warplanes affiliated with Libya’s eastern government and forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar targeted the airport in Libya’s capital on Monday.

The statement added that the crime of bombing the airport "is contrary to local laws, international covenants, teachings of religion, and humanitarian principles."

"Attacking the airport has worsened the suffering of the injured who were set to be transferred abroad for treatment," it added.

Several targets inside the airport were struck in Monday’s raid, a local military source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

An airport official told Anadolu Agency that the facility has since been evacuated and all air traffic suspended.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the escalation in violence, including the attack on Mitiga airport.

"The Secretary-General urges the immediate halt of all military operations in order to de-escalate the situation and prevent an all-out conflict," Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman, said in a statement.

"He emphasizes that there is no military solution to the Libya conflict and calls on all parties to engage in immediate dialogue to reach a political solution. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Libya stands ready to facilitate that dialogue," he added.

Last Thursday, Haftar launched military operations with the stated aim of capturing Tripoli. After initial success, however, the campaign on Monday appeared to have ground to a halt.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power: one in the eastern city of Benghazi, with which Haftar is associated, and another in Tripoli, which has UN support.

* Michael Hernandez contributed to this story from Washington