Date: Apr 8, 2019 Source: The Daily Star Haftar forces strike Tripoli, situation worsens TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI: Eastern Libyan forces carried out airstrikes on the southern part of Tripoli Sunday and made progress toward the city center, residents said, escalating an operation to take the capital as the U.N. failed to achieve a truce. The Libyan National Army force of Khalifa Haftar that backs a parallel administration in the east last week launched an advance on Tripoli in the west, home to the internationally recognized government. The offensive intensifies a power struggle that has fractured the oil and gas producer since the 2011 overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi. The LNA reached the southern outskirts of the capital Friday and says it has taken the former international airport, though the Tripoli military officials deny this. At least one warplane carried out an airstrike in the area, a resident said. “The air force took part for the first time in the military operations,” LNA spokesperson Ahmad Mismari said. “It conducted a very successful operation to secure the airport road [to the city center].” The LNA moved up north on the road from the former airport in the district of Khalat Furgan, coming some 11 kilometers from the city center, a resident said, adding he could see the troops as forces loyal to the Tripoli government withdrew. The two sides reported that at least 35 people, including civilians, had been killed since Thursday. The Health Ministry of the Tripoli-based government said in a statement that at least 21 people, including a physician, were killed and at least 27 wounded. Mismari said Saturday that 14 troops had been killed since the offensive began. In a statement Sunday, the U.N. mission to Libya called for a truce for two hours in southern Tripoli to evacuate civilians and wounded. But the truce was not observed by evening, one U.N. official said. In another sign of the situation worsening on the ground, a contingent of U.S. forces supporting the U.S. Africa Command evacuated Libya for security reasons, a U.S. statement said. It gave no details.Forces allied to the Tripoli government meanwhile announced their own operation called “Volcano of Anger” to defend the capital, a spokesperson said, without giving details. Haftar, 75, who casts himself as a foe of Islamist extremism but is viewed by opponents as a new dictator in the mold of Gadhafi, enjoys the backing of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which see him as a bulwark against Islamists and have supported him militarily, according to U.N. reports. The UAE, however, has joined Western countries in expressing its deep concern about the fighting. “No justification for LNA move on Tripoli,” U.K. Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt tweeted, adding he was watching the situation very closely and would discuss the “next steps” with the European Union Monday. In the past, Haftar has struck deals with armed factions outside Tripoli to advance his forces. But gaining control of Tripoli - the ultimate prize for Haftar’s eastern parallel government - would be far more complicated. Armed groups allied to the Tripoli government have moved more machinegun-mounted pickup trucks to defend Tripoli from Misrata down the coast.