Airstrikes, explosions shake Tripoli

Several air strikes and explosions shook Libya’s capital Tripoli on Sunday. Residents said that they saw an aircraft circling for more than 10 minutes over the city and explosions were heard across Tripoli’s southern districts. This comes a day after clashes broke out in Tripoli after the forces loyal to Libya Unity Government on Saturday launched a counterattack against renegade General Khalifa Haftar’s fighters.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, while urging people to leave the place said, “My earnest request to Indians in and around Tripoli is that they must leave while the Tripoli airport is functional. In case the airport is closed, you will be stranded and we will not be able to evacuate you.”

Libya has been largely divided into two factions ever since the death of its dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The LNA-backed parliament controls the east of Libya, while the UN-backed interim Government of National Accord (GNA) governs Libya’s western region from Tripoli. Military sources have said that both sides are using ageing Soviet and Russian fighter jets.

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More than 200 people have lost their lives and 913 have been wounded ever since clashes erupted in the region as Haftar’s Libyan National Army advanced towards Tripoli. According to the United Nations, nearly 30,000 have been displaced so far amid hostilities in the country.

She also said that we assure you that once the situation is normal, we will allow those in regular employment to return. So please obtain leave and move out.

While the US government has primarily backed the GNA which is led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, American diplomats and military officers have maintained contacts with Russia backed Haftar.

Most of the international community has urged for a peaceful resolution to the intense fighting which has ensued in the African nation.

COURTESY:- NEWS BHARATI