Tripoli braces for battle as the conflict in Libya heightens

Soldiers loyal to Libya's U.N.-backed government.
(Image credit: MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images)

At least 21 people were killed and 27 wounded in the early stages of fighting near Libya's capital city, Tripoli, this weekend as rebel forces under Gen. Khalifa Haftar advanced toward the city in an attempt to remove the incumbent U.N.-backed government and seize control of the country.

Libya's army announced a counteroffensive on Sunday to defend Tripoli from Haftar's forces. Colonel Mohamed Gnounou told reporters that the government forces will attempt to purge "all Libyan cities of aggressor and illegitimate forces." Al Jazeera reports that the announcement came after Haftar's forces said they launched their first air raid on a Tripoli suburb.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.