By SAMY MAGDYLibyan officials in the capital of Tripoli said Sunday that overnight airstrikes hit a key military base on the city’s outskirts that was recently retaken by Turkey-backed forces. A spokesman for the Tripoli-based forces, Col. Mohamed Gnounou, said the strikes were carried out by “foreign jets” allied with military commander Khalifa Hifter. Hifter’s forces are backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while Tripoli is backed by Turkey, Qatar and Italy. The Tripoli-allied forces had wrested control of the base in May after launching weeks of attacks using Turkish-supplied drones. The Tripoli-based forces are now threatening to retake the Mediterranean city of Sirte — birthplace of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was ousted and killed in 2011.

Source: Libya Today July 05, 2020 21:11 UTC