Libyan Officials: Airstrike Hits Field Hospital, 5 Killed
Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 10:54 am
FILE - An airstrike hits a Tripoli suburb July 7, 2019, as forces loyal to the Government of National Accord in the west battled forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar. (H. Murdock/VOA)
Libyan health authorities say an airstrike hit a field hospital south of the capital, Tripoli, killing at least four doctors and a paramedic.
Malek Merset, a spokesman for the health ministry of the U.N.-supported government, says the attack took place late Saturday in the Zawya district.
Forces based in the country's east are currently fighting for control of the capital's southern outskirts against militias allied with the Tripoli-based government.
Health authorities did not say which side was behind the airstrike, which wounded eight health workers.
The Tripoli-based government blamed the airstrike on the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by commander Khalifa Hifter. The LNA could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hifter's LNA began its offensive on Tripoli in early April. In past weeks, the battle lines have changed little.