Libya: Pro-Haftar forces seize Tripoli airport

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar</p> <p>TRIPOLI (AA) – Forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said Friday they had captured the former Tripoli International Airport on the outskirts of the capital.</p> <p>The move was part of an operation called “Flood of Dignity” and the Libyan National Army (LNA) would not stop until the mission was over, spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari said at a press conference.</p> <p>Mismari said Tarhuna, a city 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the southeast of Tripoli, was also captured.</p> <p>He warned that they would retaliate against any threats to their forces.</p> <p>Earlier in the day, the LNA claimed on Facebook to have captured three major areas near Libya’s capital — Qasr bin Ghashir, Wadi Al Rabi and Suq al Khamis.</p> <p> <p>However, a spokesperson for the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) announced later on Libya al-Ahrar TV that they had reclaimed the airport from Haftar’s forces and that clashes were ongoing in Qasr bin Ghashir.</p> <p>He added that they will continue fighting until the threat is eliminated.</p> <p>Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power.</p> <p>Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power: one in the eastern city of Al-Bayda, to which Haftar is linked, and another in Tripoli.</p> <p>*Writing by Dilara Hamit from Ankara