Air strikes target militiamen escaping key base in Libya

Libyan air strikes hit forces loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar after they fled a key military airbase retaken by the government.

Two military vehicles driven by members of Haftar’s militia, which had escaped Al Watiya airbase, were reportedly struck on Monday near the 53rd military camp in the Tiji region located near Libya’s border with Tunisia.

A Russian-made Krasukha electronic warfare system was damaged. The moment capturing the air strike on the system was shared on social media, but the Libyan army has not shared any data on the whereabouts of the air strike.

The Libyan army announced on Monday that it had regained control over the strategically important Al Watiya airbase, which had been under Haftar’s control since 2014 and was used for multiple operations on southern Tripoli.

Muhammed Darrat, director of the country’s public policy assistance office, said retaking the airbase was a military victory and is an end of Haftar's “coup plot”. It should be supported with political gains, Darrat said.

Darrat said state institutions in Libya should be structured through collaboration with ally countries such as Turkey.

The government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 people killed in the violence.

It launched Operation Peace Storm on March 26 to counter attacks on the capital.

Following the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya's government was founded in 2015 under a UN-led political deal.