Libya conflict: Haftar forces threaten to target civilian planes

Rebel forces in Libya have threatened to hit civilian planes flying over the capital Tripoli, declaring the city and its surrounding areas a "no-fly zone".

Mitiga, the city's only functioning airport, was closed on Wednesday after rockets were fired towards it.

But the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said it had now been re-opened.

Mitiga has been hit several times since Gen Khalifa Haftar began an offensive to seize Tripoli from the GNA.

In a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday, the GNA said resuming flights at Mitiga was of the "utmost importance".

It called on the UN "to shoulder its responsibility in this regard and to take serious and effective moves to ensure the safety of civilians and secure civilian aviation which faces a dangerous threat from attacking militias".

It came as top diplomats from Libya's neighbouring countries met in Algeria to discuss ending the conflict in the oil-rich country.


Gen Haftar's spokesman, Ahmad al-Mesmari, said in a statement on Wednesday that "any military or civilian aircraft, regardless of its affiliation, flying over the capital will be destroyed".

Mr Mesmari said Turkish soldiers deployed to support the GNA were using Mitiga as a base.

The warning came after Mitiga said it had suspended flights following a rocket attack on Wednesday that the GNA blamed on Haftar's forces.



The GNA branded the strikes a "flagrant threat" to the safety of air traffic and a "new violation" of a ceasefire agreed earlier this month.

Gen Haftar's forces did not immediately respond to the accusations, but did say they had shot down a Turkish drone after it took off from the airport.

Mitiga is a former military airbase which has been used by civilian planes since Tripoli's international airport was damaged in fighting in 2014.