Heavy fighting rages in the Libyan capital

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Fighter jets of Libya's UN-backed government on Saturday carried out six airstrikes against the east-based army in the south of the capital Tripoli as the eastern forces made a new push to advance inside the city controlled by the internationally recognized government.

"The air force carried out six airstrikes against remnants of the militias of the war criminal Haftar (army) in southern Tripoli," the government forces said in a statement.

Khalifa Haftar, general of the Libya National Army (LNA), who is allied to a parallel government in the east, started an offensive to take Tripoli almost two months ago but has not breached the city's southern defenses.

Khalifa Haftar, general of the Libya National Army, attends a military parade in the eastern city of Benghazi, Libya, May 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

The LNA made a new push on Saturday morning, trying to advance on a road from the former airport, located in a southern suburb, towards the center but there was no sign of progress, residents said.

The government forces said in a statement they progressed in southern Tripoli and seized three military vehicles of the army.

Fighting had slowed in recent weeks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when most people fast during the day until sunset.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the battle for Tripoli so far has killed at least 510 people, injured 2,467 others and forced 75,000 out of their homes, trapped thousands of migrants in detention centers, and flattened some southern suburbs.

Smoke billows from buildings in Libya's eastern coastal city of Benghazi, October 22, 2014. /VCG Photo

It has also forced closures of schools, split families on different sides of the front line, and brought power cuts.

Two ambulance workers were killed and three wounded on Thursday when their ambulance cars were hit, the WHO said. It did not say who was responsible.

The United Nations has been unable to negotiate a ceasefire. France has, like other European countries, called for a ceasefire but also supported Haftar by sending an army and deploying drones to support him besieging the Tripoli government in April, which triggered the Tripoli government suspending all bilateral security and training cooperation with France later.

French President Emmanuel macron talks with Libyan Premier Fayez al-Serraj and Libyan national army commander Khalifa Haftar in Paris, July 25, 2017. /VCG Photo

On Wednesday, Haftar, meeting French President Emmanuel Macron, ruled out a ceasefire and said he wanted to rid the capital of militias that had “infested” the U.N.-backed government of Premier Fayez al-Serraj, a French presidential official said.

(With inputs from Xinhua and Reuters)