Italy's embassy in Libya has condemned the repeated attacks on Mitiga International Airport, the latest of which occurred at the weekend, saying they are endangering the lives of civilians, the Libyan Observer reported on Wednesday.
"These attacks must stop immediately. The airports are not military targets and are used for civilian purposes" the embassy said on Facebook, cited by the Libyan Observer.
It further called on all sides in the five-month-old battle for Tripoli to take all necessary precautions to protect civilians, in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law.
Mitiga, the only functioning airport in the Libyan capital, was closed on Sunday after being struck by artillery fire overnight which left four people injured, the United Nations backed government in Tripoli said.
The Government of National Accord accused eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army of carrying out the attack and has asked the UN to intervene. The LNA said it was targeting an operation room of Turkish drones at the facility.
Mitiga's runway was damaged in the attack and a Libyan Airlines plane, carrying pilgrims returning from the Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, was hit by shrapnel, wounding three pilgrims and putting the plane out of service, according to local reports citing airport director Lotfi al-Tabib.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned the attacks, calling them "vicious".
The attack was the seventh indiscriminate shelling incident at Mitiga since the end of July, according to UNSMIL. It said it would send findings to the International Criminal Court and U.N. Security Council.
