Libyan army hits Al-Watiya airbase 3 times in 24 hours

Air elements of the Libyan army targeted the key Al-Watiya airbase occupied by forces loyal to renegade commander Khalifa Haftar three times in the past 24 hours. 

Muhammed Kununu, the military spokesman for the government, said Tuesday that the airstrikes were carried out against Haftar’s militias and on military vehicles.

He said reconnaissance flights were also conducted in central and western areas in order to monitor the movements of Haftar’s militias in the field.

Earlier in the day, the Libyan army’s artillery units also attacked posts at Al-Watiya airbase as well as a base used by mercenaries of Russia’s Wagner Group, which supports him.

Al-Watiya, which is currently controlled by forces loyal to Haftar, is regarded as a key airbase in the country and is second only to Mitiga International Airport.

It was captured in August 2014 by Haftar, the leader of illegal armed forces in eastern Libya, who used it as his headquarters for western operations.

Haftar has intensified attacks on civilians since the beginning of May as the Libyan Army recently gained an advantage and inflicted severe losses on his militias.

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