TRIPOLI, Nov 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At least seven civilians were killed,
most of them foreign workers, and 30 wounded in an air strike Monday that hit
a biscuit factory in southern Tripoli, Libya’s health ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Amin al-Hachemi told AFP that two Libyans and nationals
from Bangladesh, Egypt and Niger died when the factory in Wadi Rabi took a
direct hit, with foreign workers also accounting for the 30 wounded.
The suburb has been at the centre of an assault launched in April by Field
Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s forces to wrest control of the capital from fighters
loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).
Pro-GNA forces, on their Facebook page, charged that the raid was carried
out by United Arab Emirates drones in support of Haftar, from whose camp
there was no immediate reaction.
The military strongman is backed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE, while
Turkey and Qatar back his rival, the United Nations-recognised GNA.
Libya has been mired in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and
killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
The battle for Tripoli, which has come to a standstill on the ground after
initial advances by Haftar’s forces, has killed more than 1,000 people and
displaced about 120,000 others, according to the UN.
The United States last week urged Haftar to call off his offensive and
accused Russia of working to exploit Libya’s latest conflict.
“The United States calls on the ‘Libyan National Army’ to end its offensive
on Tripoli,” a joint statement said after a GNA delegation held talks in
Washington, referring to Haftar’s self-styled LNA.
“This will facilitate further US-Libya cooperation to prevent undue foreign
interference, reinforce legitimate state authority and address the issues
underlying the conflict,” the statement added.
The US also “underscored support for Libya’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity in the face of Russia’s attempts to exploit the conflict against
the will of the Libyan people”.
Western powers have sent mixed signals, with France and Italy welcoming
Haftar for visits and US President Donald Trump earlier this year hailing his
role in “fighting terrorism and securing Libya’s oil resources”.
But the US has since distanced itself from the field marshal and joined
calls for a ceasefire.