TRIPOLI, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The eastern-based army of Libya on Sunday denied responsibility for an airstrike on the military academy in capital Tripoli, which killed and injured dozens of students.
"The General Command (of the army) completely denies responsibility for bombing the military academy in Tripoli," spokesman of the eastern-based army Ahmad al-Mismari told a press conference in the eastern city of Benghazi.
"The bombing of the military academy could be a result of a motor shell, not an airstrike," the spokesman said.
Al-Mismari revealed that an official investigation has been started, calling on the United Nations to send a committee to help reveal details of the attack.
On Saturday, 30 students were killed and 33 others were injured in an airstrike that hit the military academy in Tripoli, according to the Ministry of Health of the UN-backed government.
The UN-backed government accused the eastern-based army of carrying out the airstrike.
The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli, attempting to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government.
Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, and more than 120,000 civilians were displaced away from their homes.
Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political instability ever since the fall of the late leader Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
