UN: 220 killed in battles for Libya's capital last 2 weeks
Benghazi, Apr 20: Fighting between rival Libyan forces for control of Tripoli escalated in the past couple of days, a spokesman for the self-styled Libyan National Army said Saturday, as the death toll rose to at least 220, including combatants and civilians, since the LNA declared a major military offensive to take the capital earlier this month.
Fighting erupted April 5 pitting the LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter and aligned with a rival government in the east, against militias affiliated with Tripoli's U.N.-supported government.
Ahmed al-Mesmari, LNA spokesman, told a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi that heavy clashes have been underway between his forces and rival militias in the towns of Swany and al-Aziziya, south of Tripoli, which Hifter's forces seized earlier this month.
He said militias allied with the U.N.-supported government launched airstrikes on the Al Watiya air base, southwest of Tripoli. There were also airstrikes on the town of Gherian, he said.
Residents in Tripoli said Hifter's forces seem to be making small progress and gains on the ground. They said fighting has been ongoing in residential areas, a few kilometers (miles) south of Tripoli. Both sides have used heavy artillery and airstrikes, they said.
The residents spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The fighting has killed 220 people, including civilians, since Hifter declared his offensive on April 5, the U.N. health agency said Friday. The World Health Organization said that 1,066 others have been wounded.
President Donald Trump phoned Hifter earlier this week, expressing U.S. support for the leader's perceived stance against terrorism.
A White House statement Friday said: "The President recognized Field Marshal Haftar's significant role in fighting terrorism and securing Libya's oil resources, and the two discussed a shared vision for Libya's transition to a stable, democratic political system."
AP reporters saw Hifter's foreign minister Saturday in the Tunis hotel where he was staying, but the press conference he had scheduled was postponed at the last minute.
His press service distributed a statement saying it was because of "developments in Libya and the positive and fast-advancing evolution of events."
The statement did not elaborate but said a new press conference would be arranged at a later date. The Tunisian Foreign Ministry spokesman suggested that the Libyans hadn't requested permission from Tunisia's government to hold the news conference.
Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemais Jhinaoui has intensified contacts in recent days with U.N. envoy Salame and various Libyan parties, calling on them to cease hostilities and resume negotiations. Tunis is officially neutral in the Libyan conflict and has hosted repeated diplomatic negotiations on Libya's future.
Tunisia wants to hold a meeting among the top diplomats of Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia in the coming days to discuss ways to solve Libya's crisis.
The battle for Tripoli could ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Since Gahdafi's ouster, Libya has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various militias and armed groups fighting over resources and territory.
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Goa nightclub fire: Owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Phuket after tragedy, say police
Panaji (PTI): Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the main accused and owners of the Goa nightclub where a massive blaze claimed 25 lives, fled to Phuket hours after the tragedy, Goa Police said on Monday.
"Goa Police have taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol Division of the CBI to apprehend both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the earliest," a senior police officer said.
A massive fire at the nightclub, some 25 kilometres away from Panaji, on late Saturday night killed 25 persons. The deceased comprised 20 employees of the nightclub and five tourists, including four from Delhi. Five injured people were undergoing treatment at the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
After registering an FIR against them, a Look Out Circular was issued against them by December 7 by the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) at the request of the Goa Police.
The Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai was contacted, and it was found that both the accused had taken the 6E 1073 flight to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7, immediately after the fire incident, which occurred around midnight, the officer said.
READ ALSO: Goa nightclub fire: Owner Saurabh Luthra expresses grief, assures management support
He said the Goa Police had immediately dispatched a team to Delhi to conduct raids on the addresses of the accused Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra.
"Since they were not available, a notice under the appropriate sections of law was pasted on the gate of their house. This shows their intent to avoid the police investigation", he said.
Goa Police have obtained transit remand of Bharat Kohli, an employee of the club, and are bringing him to Goa.
He also said that the postmortem on all 25 deceased has been completed and bodies handed over to their families.
