The escalating air war in Tripoli and the attempt of Libyan factions to break “the military stalemate” pose a threat to residents’ lives, the Guardian reported.
In a Tuesday report entitled “Libya drone strike heightens fears of air war and risk of civilian deaths,” the Guardian shed light on the drone attack carried out in Marzuq, southwestern Libya, which killed at least 45 people and injured dozens.
“The death toll, which included many children, represents one of the largest single losses of civilian life since the civil war began in 2011,” the report said.
On Sunday, General Commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) hit a town hall meeting in the town of Marzuq, but the LNA denied targeting civilians.
“After rapid early gains, Haftar’s forces have stalled as resistance by coalition of militias fighting for the GNA has hardened,” the report added.
The Government of National Accord accused the eastern army of the attack, urging the U.N. to “carry out an investigation into the crimes committed by Haftar’s militias in Marzuq.”
“The air war will intensify, as long as international reaction is pretty non-existent. The conclusion is that [actors] can get away with this, and they can do it again, even in more densely popuated areas,” Jalel Harchaoui, an expert at the Clingendael Institute in the Hague, told the Guardian.
