Libya’s Tripoli government retakes Yarmuk camp

By Hamdi Yildiz </p> <p>TRIPOLI (AA) – Libya’s Tripoli-based government said Thursday it has recaptured the Yarmuk military camp south of the capital from forces led by Commander Khalifa Haftar. </p> <p>The al-Sumud front supported the operation, a military source who declined to be named told Anadolu Agency.</p> <p>Haftar’s forces said earlier Wednesday that they had captured the camp from UN-backed government forces.</p> <p>The Yarmuk military camp is in the Ain Zara area, which had been witnessing clashes between Haftar’s forces and government forces. </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, with which Haftar is associated, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys the UN’s support. </p> <p>*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur