Libya Militia in Failed Air Strike on Oil Port
Militia warplanes attacked a major oil export terminal in Libya Tuesday but were driven off by anti-aircraft fire without being able to hit their targets, a spokesman for guards there said.
In response, planes from the internationally recognized air force struck Tripoli's militia-controlled Mitiga airport without causing any casualties, said the head of the internationally recognized government's air force.
The Al-Sidra terminal that was targeted is under the control of that government.
Ali al-Hassi, spokesman for the forces guarding oil installations in the east, said "two MiG airplanes took off from Sirte airport and tried to bomb Al-Sidra, but anti-aircraft defenses forced them to drop their bombs on waste land without causing any casualties or damage."
Sirte, hometown of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi, is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Al-Sidra. Militias control the airport and parts of the city, a stronghold of the Islamic State group in the oil-rich North African country.
Both they and the forces of Libyan military chief Lieutenant General Khalifa Haftar use MiGs that were part of Gadhafi's air force.
Tuesday's retaliatory attack on Mitiga was the latest in a series of raids carried out in recent months by forces loyal to the anti-Islamist general, who was named to head the government's armed forces Monday.
Airport spokesman Faouzi Milad said the raids caused neither casualties nor damage.
The air force commander, General Sagr el-Jerouchi, said the raids were in response to the Al-Sidra attack. He said they targeted Fajr Libya units inside the facility and "also hit other militia positions in Tripoli".
Mitiga is the only airport still functioning in Tripoli, which was seized last summer by Fajr Libya, or Libya Dawn, 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.
The raids come as a new round of U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at resolving the nation's political crisis is set to be held in Morocco on Thursday, after the internationally recognized parliament decided to end a boycott.
Libya has been awash with weapons since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Gadhafi, and opposing militias have since been battling for control of its cities and oil wealth.
It has two rival governments and parliaments -- those recognized by the international community sitting in the far east of the country and the others in the capital.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/169863 |