Libya: Flights Resume Between Tripoli, Benghazi

The Afriqiyah Airways plane before departing from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli to Benina Airport in Benghazi on Friday, October 16, 2020 (Mitiga Airport)
The Afriqiyah Airways plane before departing from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli to Benina Airport in Benghazi on Friday, October 16, 2020 (Mitiga Airport)
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Libya: Flights Resume Between Tripoli, Benghazi

The Afriqiyah Airways plane before departing from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli to Benina Airport in Benghazi on Friday, October 16, 2020 (Mitiga Airport)
The Afriqiyah Airways plane before departing from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli to Benina Airport in Benghazi on Friday, October 16, 2020 (Mitiga Airport)

An Afriqiyah Airways plane arrived on Friday morning at Benina International Airport departing from Mitiga International Airport, on the first scheduled flight from Tripoli to Benghazi in almost two years.

Libyans have expressed hope that the rest of the arrangements be made between rival parties to eliminate the effects of war on Tripoli and “demolish the wall of hatred" built by conflict.

The flight was seen by many as a dove carrying messages of peace and highlighting the time to turn the page of a 13-month war that left thousands dead and wounded and inflicted damage to the capital's infrastructure.

The flight carried a delegation from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority, the Libyan Airports Authority, and Afriqiyah airlines itself, Benina airport said.

It noted that parties headed to Tripoli to discuss the operation of internal and external flights, maintenance procedures, as well as the precautionary measures that shall be taken by the two airports.

Libyan political figures and MPs expressed joy and described the step as a “beginning to reunite the war-torn social fabric.”

Head of the Libyan Media Foundation said Friday’s flight is the beginning for upcoming regular flights among all Libyan airports.

"Wars are not an option, division is not a destiny, and compassion, mercy, communication, cohesion, friendship, and love are Libyan people’s destiny and choice," he stressed.

He also hailed the role played by Head of the Presidential Council Fayez al-Sarraj and his deputy Ahmed Maiteeq, as well as civilian and military officials in Benghazi and the efforts to make this step a success.

Meanwhile, an economic expert described the resumption of aviation between Benghazi and Tripoli as a “joyful and major step,” expressing hope that all Libyans again communicate and reunite.

The domestic air traffic between eastern and western Libya was halted in light of the war launched by Commander in Chief of Libya’s National Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on Tripoli on April 4, 2019.

The war launched between western and eastern Libya was accompanied by hate speech and escalation of the hostile rhetoric in the Libyan political and social circles.

Rival parties accused each other of betrayal due to differing positions on the military operation.



Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
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Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)

An Israeli drone strike on Thursday hit a car at an army checkpoint in the southern port city of Sidon, killing three people and wounding several others, including Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers, Lebanon’s state news agency and the army said.

The Lebanese army said in a communique that three soldiers and four Malaysian peacekeepers were injured.

The National News Agency said one of the wounded was taken to the hospital while the peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the attack at the northern entrance of Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city. There was no immediate information on the identities of those who died.

The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL said in a statement that a convoy bringing newly-arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing by when a drone strike took place near it. The strike lightly injured five peacekeepers, it said.
“We remind all actors of their obligation to avoid actions putting peacekeepers or civilians in danger. Differences should be resolved at the negotiating table, not through violence,” the statement said.

A drone strike earlier Thursday hit a car on a main highway just outside Beirut, killing one woman, according to local media.

The attack took place near Araya, where several similar drone strikes have taken place in the past week.