44 killed as air strike hits Libya migrant centre

The government blames the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, for the airstrike

This picture taken on June 29, 2019 shows smoke plumes rising in Tajoura, south of the Libyan capital Tripoli, following a reported airstrike by forces loyal to retired general Khalifa Haftar.

An air strike hit a detention centre for mainly African migrants in a suburb of the Libyan capital Tripoli late on Tuesday, killing at least 44 people and wounding more than 130, the United Nations said.

It was the highest publicly reported toll from an air strike or shelling since eastern forces under Khalifa Haftar launched a ground and aerial offensive three months ago to take Tripoli, the base of Libya’s internationally recognised government.

United Nations Libya envoy Ghassan Salame condemned the strike, saying it “clearly amounts to the level of a war crime”.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said it was the second strike on the centre, even though its coordinates had been communicated to the warring sides.

Libya is a main departure point for African migrants, fleeing poverty and war, to try to reach Italy by boat, but many are picked up and brought back by the Libyan coast guard, supported by the European Union.