Cargo plane hit amid fighting in Tripoli

An eastern Libyan military plane was hit on Sunday by forces allied to the internationally recognised government near the capital Tripoli, both sides said.

The Libyan national army (LNA) commanded by Khalifa Haftar, whose forces have been trying to take the Tripoli for a year, said its cargo plane was hit at Tarhouna, a town south of Tripoli which the LNA controls and uses as a main forward base.

LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari said the plane was carrying medical supplies to fight the coronavirus outbreak, while the Tripoli forces said it had been carrying ammunition.

An escalation in the fighting could spell disaster for Libya’s already fragmented and badly stretched health system in handling the coronavirus, after authorities confirmed the first case of the disease in late March.

Read more via Reuters