At least 40 migrants were killed and more than 80 injured after an air strike hit a migrant centre on the outskirts of the Libyan capital Tripoli, government officials said on Wednesday.
The UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, condemned the attack”in the strongest terms”, adding that it “clearly amounts to awar crime”. The attack was carried out overnight by F-16 fighter-bomberstaking part in Haftar’s military advance towards Tripoli, Efe news reportedciting sources.
Images from the ground showed piles of rubble left where thebuildings had been, while emergency crews worked to remove both the wounded andthe dead.
In a statement, the UN-recognized government of NationalAccord (GNA) in Tripoli condemned the “horrific crime”, blaminganti-government forces led by warlord Gen. Khalifa Haftar — the leader of theopposition Libyan National Army (LNA) — for the attack which took place lateTuesday.
On the other hand, Haftar’s forces accused the government ofbombarding the centre. There is currently no independent confirmation on whowas responsible for the attack.Women and children were among those hit, GumaEl-Gamaty, a member of the UN-backed political dialogue group, told theBBC.