Turkey has condemned Saturday's deadly airstrike on a Tripoli-based military school said to have been conducted by the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

"The international community must immediately take the necessary steps in order to stop the attacks" by the LNA controlled by Khalifa Haftar "to ensure a ceasefire in Libya and to end the foreign support to Haftar," said a statement released by Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.  

Ankara also sent its condolences to the families of the 30 people killed and said that it will "continue to work in solidarity with the legitimate Government of the National Accord (GNA) to achieve these objectives." 

According to Libya's GNA, which is backed by the United Nations, the eastern-based army was responsible for the airstrike and it was supported by foreign air forces. 

Most of the victims are students, with dozens injured, Amin al-Hashemi, the spokesperson for the health ministry of the GNA, said on Sunday.

The cadets killed and injured were gathered on a parade ground before going to their dormitories, he added.  

The military school is in al-Hadba al-Khadra, a residential sector of the Libyan capital. The GNA health ministry called for blood donors to go to hospitals and blood banks to help those injured.  

Ahmed Maiteeq, deputy prime minister of Libya, visited the injured in hospital and said that the targeting of cadets manifests terrorism. The attack confirms GNA's determination to defeat aggression and terrorism in order to build a state of institutions and law, Maiteeq said. 

Libya was plunged into chaos with the toppling and killing of Muammar al-Gaddafi in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising. It has since become divided between the GNA and rival authorities based in the country's east. 

The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli since early April, trying to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government. 

The House of Representatives allied to LNA also voted on Saturday to cut ties with Turkey shortly after Turkish approval to send troops to Libya to support the UN-backed government.  

On Nov. 27, Turkey and the Tripoli-based Libyan government signed two separate memorandums of understanding on security cooperation. 

The eastern-based army has not commented on the airstrike so far. 

(Cover: A member of Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Accord forces is seen during a fight with Eastern forces, in southern Tripoli, Libya, June 22, 2019./ Reuters)