death toll crosses 141 in libya attack
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Death toll crosses 141 in Libya attack

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Death toll crosses 141 in Libya attack

Members of the Libyan National Army
Benghazi - Arab Today

A spokesman for east Libyan armed forces said on Friday that as many as 141 people had been killed a day earlier in an attack on a southern air base, and the head of Libya’s United Nations-backed government suspended his defense minister pending an investigation into the incident.
The attack at Brak Al-Shati air base shattered a truce in the area, which in recent months had become a flashpoint between military alliances based in eastern and western Libya.
It risks a major escalation in a stop-start conflict between eastern-based factions and rivals loosely aligned with current and former governments in the capital, Tripoli.
Ahmed Al-Mismari, a spokesman for the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), said 103 of those killed in the attack at the air base were LNA troops, most of them from the 12th Brigade stationed there.
They were attacked by a brigade from the western city of Misrata known as the Third Force, which previously controlled the base and is nominally aligned with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.
Earlier on Friday, the mayor of Brak Al-Shati and a medical source in the town put the death toll at 89, though the medical official said some bodies had not been brought to the hospital. Mismari said some of the bodies were only collected on Friday.
It was not possible to independently verify the number of casualties. Local and LNA officials have said some of those killed were civilians who appeared to have been summarily executed. Mohamed Gliwan, a spokesman for the Third Force, told local TV that LNA troops who were killed inside the base were armed.
Human Rights Watch cited a medical official, an eyewitness, and photo and video footage to say that attacking forces had killed “scores of LNA fighters, some with bullets to the head, in apparent acts of summary execution.” UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler called the attack unprovoked and vicious, saying it “must not push (Libya) into further, serious conflict.”
GNA Prime Minister Fayez Seraj announced that he was suspending both Defense Minister Mahdi Al-Barghathi and Third Force commander Jamal Traiki, “until it is determined who was responsible for violating the cease-fire.”
He condemned the escalation at Brak Al-Shati “in the strongest terms” and called for an immediate cease-fire. He denied issuing any instructions to the ministry of defense.
Barghathi is a former LNA commander turned opponent of LNA chief Khalifa Haftar. He is widely reported to have played a role in plotting past military operations against the LNA, though his ministry denied ordering Thursday’s attack.
The LNA has said militants and the Benghazi Defense Brigades (BDB), whose members previously fought the LNA in Benghazi, also took part in the attack.
Mismari said the LNA had carried out air strikes in the Sabha and Jufra regions in response to the attack.
Also on Friday, a car bomb south of Benghazi killed a prominent tribal leader linked to the LNA along with five other people. The blast in Suluq, 31 miles (50 km) south of Benghazi, also wounded 26 people, a medical source said.
The LNA has been fighting a three-year campaign against Jihadists and other opponents in Benghazi and other parts of eastern Libya.

Source: Arab News

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

death toll crosses 141 in libya attack death toll crosses 141 in libya attack

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

death toll crosses 141 in libya attack death toll crosses 141 in libya attack

 



GMT 07:19 2017 Wednesday ,05 April

Global outcry over suspected Syria chemical attack

GMT 20:55 2017 Monday ,09 October

Illegal immigration attempt thwarted in Tunisia

GMT 06:57 2017 Tuesday ,17 October

Total termination’ of Iran nuclear deal possible

GMT 04:46 2017 Saturday ,03 June

Canada exports to US hit record high

GMT 09:50 2018 Tuesday ,11 September

Messahel to partake in Cairo in Arab League Council

GMT 13:54 2018 Saturday ,06 January

Rahi briefs Pope Francis on his visit to Saudi Arabia

GMT 01:01 2017 Tuesday ,26 December

Pakistan allows Indian 'spy' on death row

GMT 06:01 2017 Saturday ,23 December

Meryl Streep's brand under threat

GMT 01:15 2011 Friday ,15 April

Violent sandstorms create havoc in Iran

GMT 05:51 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

Trump to lay out 'America First' security strategy

GMT 23:18 2017 Tuesday ,22 August

AGU signs memo with GSO

GMT 21:37 2017 Monday ,28 August

Manama's identity preservation discussed

GMT 05:55 2017 Saturday ,05 August

DR Congo warlord handed over to Kinshasa authorities

GMT 09:53 2017 Thursday ,14 September

Dalia began filming her role in 'Red Sulfur'

GMT 07:32 2013 Friday ,06 December

World Bank: Universal health coverage key in growth

GMT 16:19 2017 Monday ,25 September

Russian strikes kill 45 Syrian rebels
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday