Libya on fire as Warlords battle for Tripoli

Libya’s capital, Tripoli is currently on fire as fighting has left 121 people dead since strongman Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive earlier this month to take the Libyan capital.

With gunfire echoing through city blocks and tanks rumbling through towns and districts south of Tripoli, many panicked residents have fled their homes.

More than 13,500 people have been displaced and over 900 are now living in shelters, OCHA said.

Both sides have launched daily air raids and accuse each other of targeting civilians.

In clashes between Haftar’s forces and those of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), both sides have proclaimed “advances” but neither appears to have made substantial progress on the ground in recent days.

The mounting violence has sparked global alarm over the oil-rich country, in turmoil since NATO-backed forces overthrew former dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

A bewildering array of militias have sought to take control since his ouster.

Haftar’s offensive began shortly before a conference set for this month to discuss Libya’s future — an event the UN cancelled as his forces closed in on the capital.

Haftar, who leads the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), has pushed from his power base in the country’s east towards the Libyan capital in the west, the seat of the UN-backed unity government led by Fayez al-Sarraj.

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The unity government said its forces had shot down an LNA fighter jet on Sunday “that was preparing to conduct air raids” south of Tripoli.

An LNA source said the plane had come down in an area under its control and that the pilot, who had ejected, was “safe and sound”.

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That came as the strongman met in Cairo with key backer Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who pledged support for “efforts to fight terrorism and extremist militias to achieve security and stability… throughout the country”, Sisi’s office said.

Haftar also has the support of key Gulf Arab states and Russia.

On Sunday, the UN mission in Libya warned that international humanitarian law “prohibits the bombing of schools, hospitals, ambulances and civilian areas”.

The mission warned that it would document all breaches in order to inform the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court.

The European Union also expressed its “concern” on Thursday at the involvement of “terrorist and criminal elements” in the fighting.

Sarraj on Saturday denounced the “misinformation campaign by some parties that our forces include fighters belonging to terrorist organisations and groups”.

In a statement, he “strongly denied” the claim and insisted that it was the LNA attack on the capital that was “paving the way the way for dormant terrorist cells” to attack Lib