Libya: Renewed Fighting Ends Eid Holiday Truce

After a two-day truce to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday, General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (ANL) and the Tripoli-based government's army resumed fighting Tuesday.

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"Haftar had already violated the truce two days ago with bombings at the Mitiga airport in Tripoli, forcing the authorities to suspend flights for several hours... The Libyan army responded by bombing the roads leading to the airport," the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

On Sunday, Haftar carried out a new operation in Morzouk, a city in the south of the country that has been beset by violence over the last two weeks due to the entry of a military force supported by the National Unity government (GNA), which is led by Prime Minister Fayez Al -Sarraj from Tripoli.

"The violence has killed dozens of people. According to the U.N., 2,150 people had to flee the city," the french media RFI reported and explained that fighting continued in the old city on Monday.

On April 4, the ANL commander Haftar launched an offensive to conquer Tripoli, as the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was officially visiting the country.

While he has not achieved that military objective, the ANL currently controls most of Libya and all its oil fields.

From 2014 and on, Libya has had two political power centers: one of them is the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, which is having a hard time governing the capital city; and the other is the Tobruk-based government, which is ruled by Hafter and militarily supported by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and France.

Since the April offensive, it is estimated that more than 1,000 people have died, 5,000 people have been injured and 100,000 have been forced to leave their homes in search of refuge in other areas of Libya or in European countries.