The forces affiliated to the Government of National Accord (GNA), recognized by the UN and Turkey, liberated the Tripoli International Airport, which was previously managed by the forces affiliated to the putschist Haftar.
With the operation simultanously mounted south of Tripoli and west of Tarhouna on May 22, some critical locations where the putschist Haftar forces had had under control for more than 1 year are now under the control of the GNA forces. In addition to the progress on May 22, in the continuing operation on May 23, Libya’s GNA cleared two critical camps, Hamza and Yarmouk camps, out of the forces of the putschist Haftar.
For almost a week, clashes increased around the Tripoli International Airport and the putschist Hafter militias gradually started to retreat from the region. The images released from the region on June 2, 2020 demonstrated that at midday the GNA forces were in the northern part of the Tripoli International Airport. Later, GNA forces shared images from the Tripoli International Airport.
Watiyya: The Game Changer
On May 18 2020, the forces affiliated to the Government of National Accord, recognized as a legitimate government by the UN in Libya, retook the critical Watya Air Base, previously occupied by the Haftar forces. The GNA forces, which have made progress since May 18 in the southern part of Watiyya air base, have regained control in Alasaba.
Despite the putschist Haftar’s force, the GNA forces have made a substantial progress in the field since the day when the Watiyya air base was captured. Besides the destroyed Russian air defense systems utilized by the Haftar militias, the fact that locals upheld the GNA forces led the victory.
