Libya's east-based army pounds rival gov't forces in southern Tripoli

Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-14 04:12:22|Editor: yan
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TRIPOLI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Fighter jets of Libya's east-based army loyal to General Khalifa Haftar on Tuesday attacked forces of the rival UN-backed government south of the capital Tripoli, according to a military source.

"A number of airstrikes were carried out on our forces in southern Tripoli late last night and early this morning, a few hours after the end of a UN-brokered truce with Haftar's forces," a source from the government forces told Xinhua.

"The strikes left no leave casualties, but only destroyed a few armored vehicles," the source said, confirming that clashes erupted on Tuesday between the two sides after they stopped for three days.

However, the east-based army's information center claimed the strikes killed many of the government forces and destroyed many of their vehicles.

The government and the army forces accepted a humanitarian truce proposed by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, which started on Sunday.

Since early April, the UN-recognized government of Fayez al-Sarraj has been engaged in a conflict against the east-based army that is trying to take over Tripoli and overthrow the government.

The fighting so far left more than a thousand people killed, more than 5,700 others injured and more than 120,000 people forced to flee their homes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The army is allied with the east-based government, as the north African nation is politically divided between eastern and western governments.

Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

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