Air Attack In Libya: Dozens Killed In Migrant Camps

Thousands of migrants in Libya are trapped near the front in the crossfire of rival governments. An air raid on detention migrant camps killed dozens of people.

In an airstrike in a suburb of the Libyan capital Tripoli, a prisoner camp for migrants has been hit. At least 40 people were killed in the Tagiura camp and 80 were injured, Malek Merset, a spokesperson for the Libyan health authorities, told Wednesday night. He has published pictures showing how migrants are taken to hospitals by ambulance.

In a statement, the United Nations-backed Libyan government blamed the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) of General Chalifa Haftar for the air strike.

Offensive to conquer the capital
Libya is divided between two rival governments. Both are supported by militias who have different cities under their control. Haftar controls large parts of the east and south of the country. He suffered a major setback last week when militias allied with the Tripoli government recaptured the strategically important town of Garian.

Haftar's forces had begun an offensive to conquer the capital in April. At the end of June, Haftar had rejected an initiative by Prime Minister Fajis al-Sarradsch to pacify the country. He would continue his offensive and free the capital Tripoli from "terrorist militia", said Haftar. Military missions would not be suspended unless Tripoli was captured, a local news portal quoted the general.

The UN and international aid organizations criticize the offensive, which has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands of civilians. The fighting over Tripoli threatens to plunge Libya into a new civil war like the one that led to the ousting of Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011 and finally to his death.

Francis Tawiah (Duisburg - Germany)