Strikes by Libyan Belligerents: the GNA and the LNA

Tensions between Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army faction, and Fayez al-Sarraj, who heads the government recognized by the United Nations, have left Libya fractured despite several formal attempts to broker an agreement between them. The two strongmen lead the main forces operating on the ground in Libya: Sarraj’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls the capital and a great deal of territory in western Libya; and the Libyan National Army (LNA), which has maintained influence in eastern Libya and seized four major oil ports.

With air support from the United States, the GNA has sought to hold territory and protect its legitimacy as Libya’s central government. Haftar, who launched an offensive in 2014 to cleanse Benghazi of jihadist militants, has been conducting airstrikes on militants, moderate Islamist militias and GNA positions as part of a campaign to wrest power from the GNA.

On September 20, 2016, residents of Hoon, an oasis in Libya’s Fezzan region, heard warplanes flying over the town, which is surrounded by black basalt mountains and sand dunes. The planes, which were reportedly flying from Misrata in western Libya, bombed Ninah Park, a water park in Sokna village, in an attempt to strike a rival group in the area. A doctor at Hoon Hospital said that at least nine people were killed and 20 were injured, including women and children.¹ No group claimed responsibility for this attack.

Though Misratan forces, which are allied with the U.N.-backed GNA, denied responsibility for the attack via spokesman Mohammed Qannouno, several local social media accounts attributed the attack to them. The GNA has relied on the U.S. military and a mix of Islamists and Misratan militias to counter armed rivals.

GNA Prime Minister Sarraj has continued to try to reach a compromise with Haftar’s LNA, but has been unable to negotiate a cease-fire or disarm militias, which the U.N. hoped his unity government would achieve. Algeria hosted talks in May 2017, but international mediation efforts have been disjointed, partially because of lack of certainty about the Trump administration’s Libya policy.

According to New America and Airwars data that captures public reports of GNA airstrikes, the GNA has conducted 54 airstrikes in Libya from 2012 to May 20, 2018. These strikes have reportedly killed a minimum of seven civilians and as many as nine. This is relatively low compared to the toll from other countries and groups conducting airstrikes in Libya. However, this number could also be much higher. Of the 2,158 strikes in the database, tens of cases implicate more than one combatant. For instance, 14 strikes were attributed to both the United States and the GNA, which could mean either or both parties were responsible. These strikes reportedly killed at least 34 civilians and as many as 54, using the highest estimates from reports.

In the course of our research we’ve documented 68 total airstrikes that were attributed to the GNA, including contested strikes, and altogether they resulted in a minimum of 41 and as many as 63 civilian deaths. For the dates and locations of these strikes, see Appendix C.

Many Libyans were skeptical of the intentions of Haftar and the LNA, whose aggressive airstrikes on jihadists often battered civilian sites as well. On June 1, 2014, the LNA bombed a Benghazi University building while targeting an Islamist militia base.² No civilian deaths were reported; however, a staff member in the mechanical engineering faculty building and his bodyguard reportedly suffered shrapnel wounds that were treated at a hospital.³ C-5 missiles used in these strikes also hit some intended military targets: the former palace of the crown prince in Fuhayat, Benghazi, near the Tripoli bridge (where Ansar al-Sharia was headquartered at the time);⁴ a GNA battalion; and the February 17 Martyrs Brigade in Benghazi’s Qawarsheh area. “Thank God, lectures had already finished,” Dean Nasser al-Aqouri told Reuters about the university strike, “but there is huge material damage.”⁵

The LNA hit many soft targets it claimed to be “terrorist targets” during Haftar’s Operation Dignity, including small boats in coastal ports, apartment buildings and airports—despite the potential harm to civilians. A strike on August 11, 2014, injured at least three and potentially as many as 10 civilians in Derna’s port district. A civilian named as the wife of Tamer Ramadan Hassan Rafik and their two children were among the wounded, suffering acute shrapnel injuries and burns.⁶ Pictures of the two small children, a boy and a girl, were posted to Facebook by the Arab Organization for Human Rights Libya and showed their scarred faces, which were badly blistered.⁷

The LNA hit many soft targets it claimed to be “terrorist targets” during Haftar’s Operation Dignity.

The LNA’s airstrike record is populated with cases like these—a January 5, 2015, strike on a Greek oil tanker that reportedly killed two civilians; a May 5, 2015, strike on the Shabia apartment buildings in Derna that reportedly killed 4-year-old Obwa Musa al-Harir; a March 6, 2018, strike that reportedly killed Saida Omar Sallouh; and tens of similar cases.⁸

The LNA continues to control most of eastern Libya, despite Haftar’s sometimes tenuous grip on power. He was reportedly hospitalized in Paris in April 2018, with reports on his status ranging from a mild stroke to cerebral bleeding. Haftar returned to Libya on April 26 to resume his role as head of the LNA.⁹ After his return, LNA forces continued to attack rival targets. As of May 15, 2018, the LNA had surrounded Islamist-controlled Derna, the last anti-LNA stronghold in the east.¹⁰

In the course of our research we’ve documented 1,264 total airstrikes that were attributed to the LNA in media reports, including contested strikes; altogether, they resulted in a minimum of 144 and as many as 245 civilian deaths. For the dates and locations of these strikes, see Appendix D.