| ABC News | - |
Warplanes again bombed a Libyan
military air base Tuesday that until a day earlier was Tripoli's only
functioning airport, shortly after the Islamist-backed prime minister
said his government was at war.
Warplanes Strike Airport in Libya Capital Again
Warplanes again bombed a Libyan military air base Tuesday that until a
day earlier was Tripoli's only functioning airport, shortly after the
Islamist-backed prime minister said his government was at war.
Late Monday, Prime Minister Omar al-Hassi said the Cabinet will now
adopt "a policy of confrontation and war," comments directed at his
rivals in Libya's internationally recognized government based in the
country's east.
"Now, we face an enemy that has plenty of weapons and support from
abroad, and we are facing more than one country supplying it with arms,"
he said.
Al-Hassi also sharply criticized the United Nations envoy to Libya, saying that Bernardino Leon "doesn't see the reality" of the situation.
The Monday-Tuesday bombings of Matiga air base ? held by Islamist-allied
militias ? appear to be part of efforts by the elected government to
retake the capital after the Islamist-allied militias seized it.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to brief reporters, said the morning raids did not result in
casualties or damage to the airport. They said several homes near the
base were damaged and the attack caused panic at a nearby school.
Two people were killed in Monday's airstrikes on the same base, and
an airport official said that three missiles hit the military airstrip's
runway.
The base had been used for civilian purposes since last summer when
Tripoli International Airport was destroyed. Officials spoke on
condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to brief reporters.
A body affiliated to al-Hassi government later issued a statement
accusing Gen. Khalifa Hifter ? who led the military campaign against
Islamist militias in the eastern city of Benghazi ? of being behind the airstrikes.
In a statement issued Tuesday, a spokesman for the United Nations
secretary-general said Ban Ki-moon was "deeply concerned" by the recent
escalation of violence, including the air strikes. He also expressed
full confidence in his envoy, Leon, and encouraged Libyans to resolve
the tensions through dialogue.
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