Shells landed near the Turkish and Italian embassies in central Tripoli late on Thursday, an apparent expansion of bombardment by eastern Libyan forces of a central district of the Libyan capital that drew European Union condemnation.
The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar has been bombarding Tripoli for months as part of a year-long war to capture the city, causing four fifths of civilian deaths in the conflict this year, the United Nations has said. However, Turkish military support for the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has helped its forces push the LNA back from several areas in recent weeks, threatening to end Haftar’s campaign in western Libya.
The Turkish ambassador told Reuters in a message that a Grad missile had struck the High Court building next to the embassy and another landed by the Foreign Ministry.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter the area near around the Italian ambassador’s residence was hit, causing at least two deaths. “Italy strongly condemns yet another attack by Haftar forces,” it said.
The EU, in a statement, condemned what it called “the latest in a series of shellings and indiscriminate attacks against civilians attributable to Haftar’s forces”.
Shells also landed around the city’s port, where the United Nations migration agency had to abort an operation to disembark migrants who had been rescued at sea.
LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari late on Friday denied that it had targeted embassies, accusing pro-GNA forces of shelling areas they hold in order to incite opinion against the LNA.
Mismari had this week announced the start of a new air campaign, and said strikes had targeted an airbase at Misrata.
Local authorities there said the loud blasts that occurred late on Wednesday were caused by a storage problem with old munitions.
Pro-GNA forces have been able to reverse some of the losses they suffered last year with the help of Turkish drones and air defence systems, which stopped most air strikes by the LNA and its allies. The LNA is supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia.
A member of parliament for the town of Rujban, Salah Suhbi, told Reuters that a drone strike had killed nine policemen in the LNA-held town on Thursday.
The U.N. Libya mission said last month that during the first quarter of 2020 at least 131 civilians were killed or injured, a rise of 45% over the last quarter of 2019 as the fighting escalated.
It said ground fighting was the main cause of the deaths and that four fifths of them were caused by forces affiliated to the LNA.
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