An airstrike launched by eastern Libyan forces led by commander Khalifa Haftar killed around 40 people and injured more than 35 others in southwestern Libya on Sunday, reported Reuters.
According to Al-Ahrar TV, citing Rahma Adem, a deputy from the town, the incident took place in Murzuq town and all the victims were from Tebu tribe. As per reports, the victims were attending a wedding when the attack took place.
Haftar’s forces confirmed the strike on the town in Libya’s south but denied they had targeted any civilians. The Libya strongman launched a war to capture the capital, Tripoli, from forces aligned with the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in April.
The strike followed another attack that killed around 40 people in a migrant detention center in Tripoli. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), clashes between the two sides since then have left more than 1,000 people dead and about 5,500 wounded.
On Saturday, Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) said it had struck an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of Haftar’s forces.
United Nations envoy Ghassan Salame has proposed a ceasefire ahead of the Islamic Eid al-Adha celebrations, which starts around August 11, and has called for renewed negotiations.
Last week, the European Union also called for Libya’s warring sides to establish a permanent ceasefire and return to UN-led talks to prepare for elections in the country.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the body welcomes the UN’s call for a truce on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha and to relaunch the political negotiations. She said that there is no military solution to the crisis in Libya.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, France’s President Emmanuel Macron had a telephonic conversation with Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about the situation in Libya calling for a ceasefire between the warring sides.
