Eastern Commander Khalifa Haftar’s forces on Wednesday threatened to target civilian planes found flying over Tripoli, declaring the city and its surrounding areas a no-fly zone, reported BBC.
“Any military or civilian aircraft, regardless of its affiliation, flying over the capital will be destroyed,” Haftar’s spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari warned in a statement.
Mesmari said that such flights would be considered a violation of the ceasefire in place since January 12. He added that the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) was using the airport for military purposes as a base for Turkish soldiers sent by Ankara in its support.
Notably, Mitiga airport was closed on Wednesday after the rebel forces fired rockets towards it. The airport has been hit several times since Gen Haftar began an offensive to seize Tripoli from the GNA, forcing airport authorities to halt flights for several hours. Mitiga has been the only source of commercial flights since Tripoli International Airport was heavily damaged in fighting in 2014.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) re-opened the airport on Thursday. In a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday, the GNA said resuming flights at Mitiga was of the utmost importance. It made an appeal to the UN to take serious and effective steps to ensure the safety of civilians and secure civilian aviation which faces a dangerous threat from attacking militias.
Earlier this month, the warring parties announced a ceasefire in response to a joint call by the Turkish and Russian leaders. But the ceasefire talks ended without an agreement after Haftar left Moscow without signing the deal.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, top diplomats from Libya’s neighboring countries and other countries had a meeting in the Algerian capital to intensify efforts to end the conflict. The meeting included foreign ministers from Tunisia, Egypt, and Chad, as well as diplomats from Sudan and Niger.
