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LNA Vows to End Erdogan’s Plans in Libya

Planes are seen at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya (File Photo: Reuters)
Planes are seen at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya (File Photo: Reuters)
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LNA Vows to End Erdogan’s Plans in Libya

Planes are seen at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya (File Photo: Reuters)
Planes are seen at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya (File Photo: Reuters)

Leader of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar has vowed to defeat militias and put a stop to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans in the country.

LNA spokesman Major General Ahmed al-Mismari announced that the Army will not stop until liberating Tripoli and defeating extremists, criminal militias, mercenaries, foreign fighters, and Turkish invaders.

He warned foreign troops that they are running low on time and the LNA will not stop until the “extremist Erdogan’s project” has been terminated.

Mismari announced that LNA’s air defenses downed a Turkish ‘Bayraktar’ Mini Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), south of Tripoli.

Meanwhile, head of the Government of National Accord Fayez al-Sarraj accused the LNA of firing hundreds of rockets at residential neighborhoods in the vicinity of Mitiga airport. The rockets also reached the airport and damaged its facilities.

"The forces of war criminal (Haftar) fired more than a hundred rockets and missiles at residential areas in the center of the capital Tripoli Saturday", the GNA said in a statement.

Sarraj said the government has no choice but to respond to the aggression.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry announced that the strikes targeted its interests, including representative offices in Libya, warning that it will consider Haftar’s elements as a legitimate target.

However, LNA said that Turkey has set up a military airbase in Mitiga airport, despite GNA’s denial. Civil aviation has been suspended at the airport for about two months due to repeated bombardments.

Operation Volcano of Rage announced that three people were killed and 12 others injured, including three children, in LNA’s attacks. It indicated that the airport was also damaged.

The Operation announced that since the beginning of Ramadan, over 34 people have been killed and more than 80 wounded, including women and children. It also noted that the attack destroyed a number of the city’s infrastructure and homes.

In addition, Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) announced that fuel tanks at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport were targeted in the attack, causing a large fire.

The NOC statement indicated that four tanks were directly hit and completely burnt, while six others were extensively damaged.

Videos and images shared from the scene showed plumes of black smoke near the airport.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) strongly condemned the increased attacks on civilian populated areas in Tripoli, including the shelling on Tripoli’s Zawiat al-Dahmani neighborhood, near the Turkish embassy and the Italian ambassador’s residence, which reportedly killed at least two civilians and injured three others.

UNSMIL will continue to document violations to be shared, where relevant, with the Panel of Experts and the International Criminal Court, it said.

Unlike previous statements, UNSMIL did not call on parties to end all clashes and resume the political process.

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Arab World

Lebanese Return to Beirut’s Southern Suburbs with Bags Packed for Quick Exit

A resident films his home in a building hit by airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
A resident films his home in a building hit by airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
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Lebanese Return to Beirut’s Southern Suburbs with Bags Packed for Quick Exit

A resident films his home in a building hit by airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)
A resident films his home in a building hit by airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP)

Nour Hammoud and her family live in constant fear as Israel issues warnings to residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, after deciding to return to their home in Ghobeiry, an area frequently hit by Israeli airstrikes.

“We’d rather die in our home than suffer humiliation outside of it,” says the young woman in her twenties.

She describes the difficult decision faced by her family and others who, despite the risks, have returned to their homes.

Many, including her family, rely on the alerts from Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee on X (formerly Twitter), where targeted buildings are announced shortly before they are attacked. Families often leave after each warning, only to return when it is safe.

For some, the return is driven by financial hardship, as they can’t afford rent or find safer places.

For the Hammouds, however, the decision was prompted by increasing harassment, especially toward her younger brothers, in the area they had fled to in Mount Lebanon.

“Security checks were becoming more intense, with authorities scrutinizing my brothers’ identities whenever they left or entered,” she explained.

This increased pressure follows attacks on Hezbollah-linked individuals in areas outside the southern suburbs, previously considered safe. This has caused fear and hostility in host communities, impacting displaced families.

After a month in a rented house in Mount Lebanon, the Hammoud family returned to the southern suburb, which has been calm in recent days despite being bombed five days earlier.

Speaking by phone amid the sound of Israeli drones overhead, Hammoud said: “We came back ten days ago, cleaned our house, bought what we could from the market to avoid going out too much, and packed small bags with essentials. We wait for the warnings to leave again.”

The beach has become their refuge.

“After each warning, we go to the beach, wait for the bombing to stop, then return to our home, hoping it’s still standing,” she added.

Asked about living in constant fear in a neighborhood almost destroyed by repeated strikes, Hammoud replied: “We’re not afraid. It’s better to die in our homes than to live in shame. Whatever is meant for us will happen... We either win, which we believe in, or we become martyrs.”

As the war continues, estimates from Mohammad Shamseddine at Information International suggest that 240 buildings have been destroyed in the southern suburbs, with 360 more partially damaged, affecting around 12,000 housing units in neighborhoods like Haret Hreik, Lailaki, Jamous, and Ghobeiry.

While the Hammoud family can afford rent, many others are unable to find safe places to stay.

Um Mohammad, another displaced woman, says she and her family were asked to leave a school in Beirut where they had taken refuge. With schools reopening, they were told to vacate by Thursday.

Although the private school director in Ain el-Remmaneh who hosted them did all he could to help, Um Mohammad told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The decision has been made, and we have to leave.”

“Our problem is that we have nowhere else to go. If the situation doesn’t improve, my sick husband, son, and I will return to Chiyah in the southern suburbs, just like many other families,” she added.