TRIPOLI, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Libya's eastern-based army on Friday announced that aircraft are banned from flying in southern Libya without permission, as the army continues its anti-terror campaign in the region.
"Landing and taking off to and from the airports and airstrips of the southern region is prohibited without permission of the operation chamber (of the air force)," the army's information department said in a statement.
"Any unpermitted airplane in this area will be forced to land, and will be treated as an enemy target in case it did not comply," the statement added.
The army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has been carrying out a military campaign against terrorism and crime in the south since mid-January.
The army is allied with the eastern-based government, as Libya is politically divided between two governments in the east and the west, both competing for legitimacy.
