Rival Libyan forces carry out air strikes before UN talks

BENGHAZI, Libya — Rival Libyan forces carried out tit-for-tat air strikes on oil terminals and an airport on Tuesday, escalating their battle for control of the oil-producing country days before United Nations peace talks are to resume in Morocco.

The United Nations called for the hostilities to end in preparation for the negotiations, which it hopes will end the war raging between Libya's two rival governments and their armed forces four years after the fall of Muammar Qadhafi.

Oil installations and key infrastructure are prime targets in the conflict, which pits Prime Minister Abdullah Al Thinni's internationally recognised government against Libya Dawn, the group which took Tripoli last year and set up its own administration.

A warplane belonging to forces allied to Libya Dawn bombed the oil ports of Ras Lanuf and Es Sidra, causing only minor damage, according to a security official with Thinni's government.

"They targeted the civil airport in Ras Lanuf, and oil tanks in Es Sidra. The rockets fell near the tanks, resulting in only minor damage," said Ali Hassi, a spokesman for the forces guarding Libya's oil infrastructure.

Es Sidra and Ras Lanuf, which make up half of Libya's oil output when operating normally, shut down in December due to the conflict. Libya currently produces around 400,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to 1.6 million bpd before Qadhafi was toppled.

Warplanes also hit Maitiga, Tripoli's airport, air force commander Saqir El Jaroshi said, and there were plans to carry out air strikes on the airport of port city Misrata, which is also a base of Libya Dawn.

Jaroshi said the strikes were retaliation for Tripoli forces bombing Zintan, a town loyal to Thinni's government, and also to stop suspected supplies to Islamist militants.

A source at Maitiga said a warplane struck close to the runway but did not cause major damage. Most international airlines stopped flying to Libya and foreign diplomats were pulled out as fighting worsened last year.

UN envoy 

meets both sides

Militants in Libya claiming ties to Daesh have carried out high profile attacks which have raised fears the country has become a haven for extremists, just across the Mediterranean from mainland Europe.

Western governments are backing United Nations efforts to bring the two sides together to form a unity government, broker a comprehensive ceasefire and to put Libya's fragile transition to democracy back on track.

The United Nations said on Tuesday it would restart talks this week in Morocco with delegations from both factions after special envoy Bernardino Leon met with the governments in Tripoli and the eastern city of Tobruk.

The statement said both sides had acknowledged the need for a united front and a more robust Libyan state to "confront the growing threat of terrorism in Libya”.

"The parties underscored the need to urgently resume the dialogue process as the only viable means of finding a peaceful solution...," the statement said.