TRIPOLI, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Three civilians were killed in an airstrike that hit a civilian area in southern Libyan capital Tripoli, the UN-backed government's forces said in a statement.
The airstrike hit a local workshop and a store, killing three men, said the statement.
The statement accused the rival eastern-based army of the airstrike, to which the eastern-based army has not committed so far.
The eastern-based army has been launching a military offensive since April in an attempt to take over Tripoli from the UN-backed government.
Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, while more than 120,000 civilians have been displaced.
The UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame condemned continued airstrikes on civilians in western Libya.
"We have said it loud and clear that indiscriminate attacks against civilians not only constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law, but also further escalate the conflict and incite future acts of revenge, which threaten the social unity in Libya. This is utterly unacceptable," Salame said in a statement a few days ago.
