The UN-recognized Government of Libya, National Accord (GNA), has officially announced the start of an operation to retake Tripoli Airport from the occupation of Haftar.

Iran Press/Africa: Libyan army spokesman  Mohammed Gununu said on Wednesday, June 3rd, that the operation to liberate Tripoli airport had begun.

Our instruction to our forces is to advance and pursue the remnants of the Haftar forces who have fled into Tripoli airport.

Gununu added that our forces managed to strengthen the siege of Tripoli airport two days ago in order to prepare for the liberation and expansion of government control over it.

According to a Libyan military spokesman, the air force has targeted three Haftar tanks in Qasr bin Ghashir and one tank inside Tripoli airport in recent hours.

Tripoli International Airport is located 27 km from Tripoli in the Qasr bin Ghashir area.

Libya has been engaged in civil war since 2011, when former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown. 

Today, Libya is divided between two centers of power, an elected parliament in the country's east, supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalifa Haftar, and the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west, headed by Fayez Sarraj.  

The Haftar-led LNA, supported for years by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, and a number of Western countries, controls eastern Libya and has in recent months advanced toward the northern part of the country.

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