"Mitiga International Airport has recently been subject to indiscriminate shelling that coincided with a take-off of a Libyan Airlines plane. As a result, the plane returned and air traffic in the airport has been suspended until further notice", the airport wrote on Facebook.
The airport often suspends its activity amid the ongoing military confrontation between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the rival UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). On 9 January, the LNA included the airport in the no-fly zone due to its offensive to capture the capital, which is the seat of the GNA. However, the airport was reopened after the sides announced a ceasefire three days later. One more suspension took place after rocket fire on Wednesday, but the airport was soon reopened.
Since the killing of long-time Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been gripped by conflict. Libya is now divided between two governments, with the eastern part controlled by the LNA, headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the western part governed by the UN-backed Government of National Accord.
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