Airstrike kills 7 in south of Libya's Tripoli

19 Nov


A total of seven people were killed on Monday by an airstrike that hit a factory in south of the Libyan capital Tripoli, according to the Health Ministry's field medical department.


"On Monday, Al-Sunbulah biscuit factory in Wadi Al-Rabie area was hit by an airstrike that killed seven people, among whom are two Libyans and five foreign workers," the department said in a statement.


The airstrike also injured 15 people and caused serious material damage, the statement said, adding that those injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.


The UN-backed government forces accused the rival eastern-based army of the airstrike, claiming that "Emirati drones supporting (the eastern-based army commander Khalifa) Haftar carried out the airstrike."


The eastern-based army has not comment on the airstrike so far.


The eastern-based army, led by Haftar, has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli, attempting to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government.


The fighting claimed thousands of lives and injured many others, and also forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.


The eastern-based army is allied with the eastern-based government, as the North African nation is politically divided between eastern and western governments.


xinhua