Benghazi, Tripoli: Warplanes of the internationally recognised Libyan air force struck Tripoli’s militia-controlled Mitiga airport on Tuesday without causing any casualties, both sides said.
It was the latest in a series of raids carried out in recent months by forces loyal to controversial anti-Islamist general Khalifa Haftar, who was named head of the government’s armed forces on Monday.
The rival Libyan forces carried out tit-for-tat air strikes on oil terminals and an airport on Tuesday, escalating their battle for control of the country days before United Nations peace talks were due in Morocco.
The Opec oil producer’s oil installations and other key infrastructure are increasingly a target in the conflict, which pits two rival governments and their armed forces against each other, nearly four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.
Prime Minister Abdullah Al Thinni’s internationally recognised government and elected parliament have been operating from the east since rival Libya Dawn forces took over Tripoli in the summer and set up their own administration.
A warplane belonging to Tripoli-allied forces bombed the oil ports of Ras Lanuf and Al Sidra, causing only minor damage, according to a security official with Al Thinni’s government.
“They targeted the civil airport in Ras Lanuf, and oil tanks in Al Sidra. The rockets fell near the tanks, resulting in only minor damage,” said Ali Hassi, a spokesman for the forces guarding Libya’s oil infrastructure.
Al Sidra and Ras Lanuf, which make up half of Libya’s oil output when operating normally, shut down in December due to the conflict. Libya currently produces around 400,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to 1.6 million bpd before Gaddafi was toppled.
Air force commander Gen Saqr Al Jerouchi, said the strikes were retaliation for Tripoli forces bombing Zintan, a town loyal to Al Thinni’s government, and also to stop supplies to the militants.
Most international airlines stopped flying to Libya and foreign diplomats were pulled out as fighting worsened last year.
Islamist militants in Libya claiming ties to Daesh in Iraq and Syria have carried out high-profile attacks which have raised fears the country has become a haven for extremists, just across the Mediterranean from mainland Europe.
A spokesman for the Tripoli-allied forces did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the attack on the oil ports or on Tripoli.
Western governments are backing United Nations efforts to bring the two sides together to form a unity government, broker a ceasefire and to put Libya’s fragile transition to democracy back on track.
A delegate for the Tripoli administration said on Monday the UN sponsored talks, seen by some as the only chance to end the turmoil, are due to resume on Thursday although a UN spokesman could not immediately confirm the date.
The air force commander, General Al Jerouchi, said the raids had targeted Fajr Libya units inside the facility and had “also hit other militia positions in Tripoli.”
Mitiga is the only airport still functioning in Tripoli, which was seized last summer by Fajr Libya, a coalition of militias in which Islamists play a major role.
The international airport was severely damaged and knocked out of commission during heavy fighting at the time.
Since then, the military airfield at Mitiga has been open to civilian traffic as well.
Libya has been awash with weapons since the 2011 uprising that toppled Gaddafi, and opposing militias have since been battling for control of its cities and oil wealth.
It has two rival governments and parliaments — those recognised by the international community sitting in the far east of the country and the others in the capital.
