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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
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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.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.