Fighting rages on in Tripoli

Fighting for control of the Libyan capital Tripoli by forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the capital, and forces loyal to renegade General Khalifa Hafter from eastern Libya, who heads the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), continues, with both sides claiming victory.

The fighting has now taken to the north African country’s airspace. On Sunday, GNA troops claimed to have shot down a jet operated by the LNA in the southern suburbs of Tripoli.

The downing of the jet came as Hafter, who supports the opposing House of Representatives government based in Tobruk, met Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El Sisi in Cairo for talks.

The LNA, which is supported by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and France, swept into the capital over a week ago after Hafter promised to liberate it from “terrorists” and “other militias”.

Hafter’s forces regularly engage other Libyan militias in clashes in the east of the country where the LNA controls many of the oil terminals, complicating exports of the black gold, Libya’s largest source of foreign revenue.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that 121 people have been killed and more than 560 wounded since the LNA began its assault.

The humanitarian community, meanwhile, continues to call on all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international law to refrain from targeting educational and health facilities and personnel, as well as civilian infrastructure.