At least 40 people were killed and a further 80 injured in an air strike on a migrant detention centre in the Libyan capital late on Tuesday, according to government officials.
Emergency services spokesperson Osama Ali told Paris-based news agency AFP that the casualty figures were a “preliminary assessment” and could rise.
The attack is the latest atrocity in an ongoing cycle of violence that dates back to 2011, when the death of Muammar Gaddafi triggered a power struggle in the oil-rich country that erupted into a full-scale civil war in 2014.
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The conflict centres around the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), led by prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj, and the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), led by rogue general Khalifar Haftar, who has set up a parallel government in Tobruk.
The GNA, which is backed by the United Nations, claims the LNA was behind this week’s air strike.
What happened?
Libyan authorities say that around 120 illegal migrants were being held inside a hangar that took a direct hit during the attack on a detention centre in the Tajoura suburb of Tripoli. More than 600 people, including children, were believed to be trapped in the camp.
Describing the scene in the aftermath of the strike to the BBC, Libyan Health Ministry official Dr Khalid Bin Attia said: “People were everywhere, the camp was destroyed, people are crying here, there is psychological trauma, the lights cut off.
“We couldn’t see the area very clear but just when the ambulance came, it was horrible, blood is everywhere, somebody’s guts in pieces.”
Rescuers were reported to be searching for survivors in the rubble as injured migrants were rushed to hospital to undergo surgery.
Thousands of migrants are being held in what the UN says are often inhuman conditions at camps across the country.
As Reuters notes, Libya is a key departure point for migrants and refugees from other African and Arab nations trying to reach Italy by boat, but many get picked up by the Libyan coastguard, which is supported by the European Union.
Who was responsible?
A statement issued by the GNA claims that the "premeditated“ and “precise” strike was orchestrated by LNA boss Haftar, who in April launched a major offensive to seize Tripoli.
The attack constituted a "war crime” and the international community must take a “firm and clear stance against these continued violations”, the statement continues.
The BBC says that LNA forces have been fighting government forces in the area near the detention centre and “had announced on Monday that it would start heavy air strikes on targets in Tripoli”.
However, Reuters reports that the LNA has denied responsibility for the migrant centre attack, with a spokesperson claiming that militias allied to the Tripoli government had shelled the site following a precision air strike by Haftar’s forces on a military camp.
How did we get here?
The power vacuum left by Gaddafi’s death has seen a number of warring political factions attempting to seize control.
Haftar first rose to prominence as a general loyal to the Gaddafi regime but later helped topple the dictator, before launching his own power grab as head of the LNA.
Although the GNA is recognised by the international community as Libya’s legitimate government, both sides receive military support from regional powers.
“The LNA for years has been supplied by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, while Turkey recently shipped arms to Tripoli to stop Haftar’s assault,” Reuters reports.
Amnesty International this week criticised the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, along with Jordan and other states, for violating the UN arms embargo.
The human rights organisation says the LNA offensive to seize Tripoli has forced more than 100,000 civilians to flee their homes since the beginning of April.
“The drastic impact of the battle for Tripoli is even visible from space, with satellite imagery showing large swathes of the city now cloaked in darkness,” says Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East.
The BBC says Libyans have “mixed feelings” towards Haftar but “do credit him for driving Islamist militants out of much of the city of Benghazi and its surroundings”.
However, Reuters adds that “the conflict threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration across the Mediterranean to Europe, scupper UN plans for an election to end the rivalry between the parallel administrations in east and west - and create a security void that Islamist militants could fill”.
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