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Libyan Airport Reopens After Night of Airstrikes on Tripoli

Libyan Airport Reopens After Night of Airstrikes on Tripoli

(Bloomberg) -- Tripoli’s Mitiga International Airport has reopened to flights after being shut down for several hours.

Flights were suspended because of airstrikes aimed at forces loyal to the internationally recognized government, which is based in Tripoli in northwest Libya. The airport closed earlier this month following an air strike, the first in an offensive by warlord Khalifa Haftar to take the capital.

The latest attacks were aimed at the internationally recognized government’s military positions in the capital’s southern Al-Sabaa district, said Mohamed Younes, a spokesman for the Tripoli-based government. There were several explosions overnight, followed by anti-aircraft fire.

Forces loyal to Haftar are making a push on Tripoli, where Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj’s administration is based. The offensive has stalled on the outskirts of the city. The capital has another airport, Tripoli International, which is currently closed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Cairo at skhalilalatr@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tarek El-Tablawy at teltablawy@bloomberg.net, Rachel Graham, Paul Abelsky

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