Forces allied to one of two rival governments vying for power in Libya launched an air strike near Tripoli on Thursday, officials and residents said, in a struggle that began when one group seized the capital in August and set up its own cabinet.
Libya is caught in fighting between two sides, each with its own government and parliament. One is a self-declared government created after fighters from a group known as Libya Dawn took over Tripoli in August. The other is the internationally recognized government, forced out of Tripoli and now operating from the east of the country, according to Reuters.
The army of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni’s government said it had hit military installations and positions of Libya Dawn in Qaser Ben Gashir, its spokesman Mohamed El Hejazi said.
“We are extending our strikes as long as we know more about the ammunition places,” he said.
At least three people were killed on Tuesday in air strikes on a town west of Tripoli, again carried out by forces loyal to Thinni, officials said.
After the NATO-backed war ended Muammar Gaddafi’s one-man rule in 2011, oil-producing Libya has struggled to reach stability. Former rebel brigades who once fought side by side have now turned on each other, aligning themselves with rival political factions in a scrabble for control.
On Wednesday, Thinni’s government said in a statement his forces had started a military offensive to take back Tripoli. Thinni’s government has allied itself with forces of former army general Khalifa Haftar.
