New clashes in Libya despite UN ceasefire call
Tripoli: Rival forces clashed in the Libyan capital Thursday, causing new civilian casualties in the grinding conflict a day after a UN Security Council resolution called for a "lasting ceasefire".
The resolution was the council's first since eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive last April to seize Tripoli, the seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
But the text, which calls in particular for the consolidation of a fragile truce observed since January 12, has not yielded the desired results.
A new round of violence on the southern outskirts of the Libyan capital on Thursday left civilians dead and wounded.
Tripoli's sole functioning airport of Mitiga, frequently shut down by violence, announced it was again suspending flights following a rocket strike.
Witnesses heard explosions in the largely agricultural area of Machrou al-Hadhba about 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of the Tripoli city centre.
GNA spokesman Moustafa al-Mejii confirmed fighting had broken out in the suburb. Rockets also struck residential neighbourhoods, killing one woman and wounding four other civilians, according to a spokesman for the health ministry, Amin al-Hachimi. – AFP