15 Killed in Airstrikes in Eastern Libya

A general view shows the eastern Libyan city of Derna on March 15, 2011. (AFP)
A general view shows the eastern Libyan city of Derna on March 15, 2011. (AFP)
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15 Killed in Airstrikes in Eastern Libya

A general view shows the eastern Libyan city of Derna on March 15, 2011. (AFP)
A general view shows the eastern Libyan city of Derna on March 15, 2011. (AFP)

At least 15 people were killed, including women and children, in airstrikes on the eastern Libyan city of Derna late on Monday night, said a medical source.

The National Libyan Army has been besieging the city for months and has carried out intermittent airstrikes against it.

Military officials refused to comment on the latest strikes.

A resident of the city said that the shelling last about an hour and that they targeted the al-Dhahr al-Hamr neighborhood in southern Derna and the mountainous al-Fatayeh region, 20 kms away from the city.

The medical source said that at least 17 people were wounding in the strikes, adding that so far all victims were civilians.

The coastal city of Derna lies 265 kms away from the Egyptian border in the west. It is currently under the control of an alliance of extremists and former members of the “Shura Council of the Derna Mujahideen”.

The ISIS terrorist group captured ISIS in late 2014, but the Council managed to expel it in the following year.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.