Libya: Tripoli gov't halts aviation at Mitiga Airport

TRIPOLI

The Libyan Ministry of Transportation of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) has announced on Monday that the aviation at Tripoli's Mitiga International Airport has been temporarily suspended until a further notice.

This came in an interview with Nasr Shaib Al-Ain, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority of the ministry, who said that the ministry published the announcement on its official Facebook page.

Al-Ain said that "due to the security situation in the airport, we decided to suspend the air traffic as of last Sunday until a further notice."

This announcement is considered to be the official announcement of the aviation suspension at Mitiga Airport.

Early April, forces loyal to Haftar launched a campaign to capture Tripoli from forces aligned with the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).

Clashes between the two sides since then have left more than 1,000 people dead and about 5,500 wounded, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a bloody NATO-backed uprising after four decades in power.

The oil-rich country has since seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya, with which Haftar is affiliated, and the Tripoli-based GNA, which enjoys UN recognition.

* Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara