By Enes Canli
ANKARA (AA) – Forces of East Libya-based commander Khalifa Haftar have killed 19 people and burned dozens of houses in southern Libya, a Libyan lawmaker claimed Monday.
In statements to a local television, Mohammad Adam Lino said around 90 houses have been burnt to ashes by Haftar's forces.
“They burnt down 90 houses, including those of my brothers and father, ” said Lino, a member of the Tobruk-based parliament.
He added that the bodies of 19 people had been transferred to hospital in Merzek region in southern Libya.
Last month, Haftar's forces launched a military offensive in southern Libya on the claim of fighting al-Qaeda and Daesh militants and clear the area of Chadian rebel groups.
Libya has been beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of Qaddafi after more than four decades in power.
Since then, Libya’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power — one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli — and a host of heavily armed militia groups.
