عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Libyan Army Bombs Mitiga Base as GNA Seeks to Control Watiya

Columns of smoke rise from bombed residential areas in Tripoli. AFP file photo
Columns of smoke rise from bombed residential areas in Tripoli. AFP file photo
TT
TT

Libyan Army Bombs Mitiga Base as GNA Seeks to Control Watiya

Columns of smoke rise from bombed residential areas in Tripoli. AFP file photo
Columns of smoke rise from bombed residential areas in Tripoli. AFP file photo

The Libyan National Army (LNA) has said that artillery shelling hit Mitiga military base as casualties were reported in the capital, Tripoli, after several residential neighborhoods were targeted.

The LNA, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has denied responsibility, accusing the forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) of carrying them out.

Fighting between forces loyal to the GNA and the LNA intensified on Saturday, with residents saying the clashes were the most violent since the LNA launched an offensive to “liberate” Tripoli on April 4, 2019.

About 70 rocket and shells were fired at Tripoli, said sources and locals.

GNA’s Volcano of Rage Operation, in turn, accused the LNA of shelling residential areas on the outskirts of the closed Mitiga International Airport and Bab Bin Ghashir area with 80 rockets, “killing citizens and injuring others.”

Pro-GNA local media reported that the attack hit passenger planes at the airport.

Flames and thick columns of dark smoke also rose from the airport’s military area, which is used as an operation room for Turkish soldiers cooperating with Sarraj’s government.

In a statement on Saturday, the Volcano of Rage Operation announced that the shelling of Mitiga airport resulted in the destruction of Airbus (320) and (330) planes.

A military official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the LNA has recently completed preparations for its air defense system.

“This means that the armed militias loyal to the GNA have lost air privilege.”

The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, stressed that the enemy “is a group of militias fighting together” noting that it depends more on Turkish drones.

On the other hand, forces loyal to the GNA that is led by Fayez al-Sarraj have escalated their attacks on major LNA bases in western Libya.

The GNA forces continued attacking Uqba Bin Nafeh Airbase in al-Watiya and Tarhouna city, the LNA’s most important stronghold in the region.

According to GNA military spokesman Mohammed Qanunu, forces participating in the Volcano of Rage Operation launched on Saturday six airstrikes on the base and its outskirts, targeting military vehicles.

He pointed out that the GNA "neutralized" 70 LNA members.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israel Wants to Set up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon Until Army Is Deployed

Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
TT
TT

Israel Wants to Set up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon Until Army Is Deployed

Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)

The Israeli army has been preventing the residents of southern Lebanon’s villages from returning to their homes, warning them against going back.

In a statement to the residents, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said they are barred from returning home “until further notice.”

He warned that anyone heading to the barred areas would be putting their lives in danger.

However, the majority of the villages and towns mentioned by the Israeli army are located north of the Litani River.

A security sources said the army’s warning “is confusing and unacceptable, especially since it is continuing its razing of agricultural lands in Khiam city and other villages near the border.”

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The only explanation for this is that Israel is trying to impose a buffer zone in the 60-day period offered by the ceasefire until the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers can continue their deployment along the southern border and the monitoring committee can begin its work.”

The Israeli actions are a violation of the ceasefire, which went into effect on Wednesday, added the source.

The violations demand immediate political effort sand contacts with US officials so that they can put a stop to them and speed up the formation of the five-member committee that will be chaired by an American officer, he stated.

Military and strategic expert General Nizar Abdel Qader said: “Israel’s gains on the ground and its success in imposing its conditions in the ceasefire agreement have led it to believe that it has the final say” in the South.

“True, it did not achieve a crushing victory against Hezbollah, but it proved its military superiority and achieved major gains,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.”

“It is preventing the residents of the South from returning home because it fears that Hezbollah members may be among them. It has learned lessons from its withdrawal from the South in 2000 when Hezbollah imposed its total and sole control of the border,” he remarked.

“It also learned its lesson from its withdrawal in 2006 when it let the Lebanese state oversee the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and soon after Hezbollah built a much more powerful military arsenal,” he noted.

Moreover, Abdel Qader said the Israeli violations cannot be separated from what is happening in Israel itself. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believed that it was too soon to declare a ceasefire and he instead said that Israel did not stop the war and can launch it all over again.

The violations in the South are part of political maneuvers that Netanyahu is using to hide his “embarrassment in front of the Israeli opposition and are attempts to calm the extremist ministers in his government,” he explained.

Residents of the South have acknowledged that Israel is in fact dictating their return to their homes. They said that Hezbollah was the one who called the shots in 2006, but this is not the case now.

Sami, a resident of Yohmor north of the Litani, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel has been relentlessly attacking his town.

It is dangerous for people to return to their homes, he warned, revealing that Israel has imposed a no-go zone 5 km deep into Lebanon.

Israel has so far not fulfilled its side of the ceasefire, he noted.