Tripoli’s Mitiga airport sustained heavy damages on Sunday, a day after shelling hit fuel tanks and damaged passenger planes and departure halls.
The Transport Ministry, blaming eastern-based forces of Khalifa Haftar, said one of the damaged planes was preparing to fly to Spain to retrieve Libyans stranded in Europe by the coronavirus lockdown.
A rocket attack was carried out at Libya’s Tripoli Mitiga airport yesterday. It is believed an Airbus A320 & A330 belonging time Libyan Airlines were hit & have now been withdrawn from service. Airport facilities including fuel tanks & ground handling equipment were also damaged pic.twitter.com/YC6XgT7WVL
— Toby’s Aviation (@TobysAviation) May 10, 2020
Mitiga is the last functioning airport in the Libyan capital, though civilian flights stopped in March because of repeated shelling even before the country imposed a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.
LNA spokesman, Ahmed al-Mismari, has not officially commented on Saturday’s shelling at Mitiga.
Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) has been fighting for more than a year to capture Tripoli, seat of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), with frequent shelling of the capital.
