Rocket Fire on Libya Airport Breaks Eid Truce

Rockets fired at Libya’s sole functioning airport in the capital Tripoli effectively broke a temporary cease-fire between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and strongman Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA). Haftar’s Benghazi-based LNA and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) had agreed over the weekend to a United Nations-sponsored humanitarian truce during the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha, which began Sunday. The GNA blamed Haftar’s troops for targeting against the airport, in addition to a separate alleged attack in a district on the outskirts of Tripoli. Haftar launched an offensive in April to seize the capital but encountered unexpected stiff resistance, resulting in a virtual stalemate. According to the World Health Organization, over the past four months nearly 1,100 people have been killed in the offensive and approximately 6,000 others wounded. More than 120,000 civilians have been displaced. Libya has been mired in chaos since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and led to the killing of longtime ruler Moammar Gaddafi.