TRIPOLI, Libya — A fighter plane bombed the air base that was the last airport here in the Libyan capital on Monday in the latest escalation of a struggle for power that is threatening to tear apart the country.
Commanders linked to the eastern city of Tobruk said they had ordered the strikes because the airport and the capital had fallen under the control of criminals and extremists. All air traffic was redirected to the coastal city Misurata, and the Tobruk commanders threatened to strike its airport next.
Three years after the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, renewed fighting has already destroyed Libya’s two main airports, here in Tripoli and in Benghazi, the second-largest city. Thousands have been killed or displaced as the country has descended into a prolonged conflict between two rival coalitions of cities, tribes, militias, political factions and regional sponsors.
The coalition that conducted the strike, known as Operation Dignity based in Tobruk, includes a portion of the recently elected Parliament meeting there; fighters from eastern tribes and the western city of Zintan; militias of former Qaddafi soldiers; and military units under the control of a former Qaddafi general, Khalifa Hifter. He announced his own coup this year but is now aligned with the Tobruk Parliament.
Operation Dignity says it is fighting to prevent a takeover by Islamist extremists, and some of its officers now refer to their rivals as Daesh — an Arabic acronym for the group called the Islamic State. Operation Dignity has the backing of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which see the strife in Libya as a proxy war over the future of political Islam in the region.
The opposing coalition, Libya Dawn, includes the powerful militia from the commercial city of Misurata as well as both moderate and extremist Islamist groups. It controls Tripoli, where it has reconvened a rump legislature whose mandate had expired. The coalition says it is fighting to block an authoritarian counterrevolution by remnants of the Qaddafi military and elite, and it is backed by the government of Qatar. The Libya Dawn coalition’s leaders say they draw legitimacy from a recent decision by the Tripoli-based Supreme Court annulling the election of the rival Parliament in Tobruk. (The Tobruk leaders assert that Libya Dawn fighters intimidated the judges.)
The airstrikes in Tripoli on Monday hit the Mitiga air base, once operated by the United States before Colonel Qaddafi took power in 1969. It has served as the capital’s only civilian airport since fighting over the summer destroyed Tripoli International Airport.
Hashim Beshr, a militia leader who previously led a failed attempt to build a national police force, said in a telephone interview that he had witnessed the attack. A Russian-made MIG jet dropped two bombs apparently in an attempt to hit a main runway, he said, but they landed closer to the wall of the air base. Nearby houses were damaged, and at least two civilians were killed, he said.
There were reports that the airport had reopened by Monday night, but it was unclear if it would stay open.
The strike comes as the Operation Dignity forces appear to be regaining ground.
Two months ago, the coalition was driven from here, Benghazi and much of the populous coastal region. But its forces are now fighting its opponents inside Benghazi, and in recent days allied fighters based in Zintan have taken control of the western town of Kikla as well.
One reason for the recent advances may be that Operation Dignity has a monopoly on air power — mainly in the form of air force jets from the Qaddafi era that it has managed to keep airworthy. Reportedly relying on help from Egypt, its jets have been trying to bomb opponents in Benghazi since last spring, and they have recently begun hitting targets in western Libya as well. Warplanes from the United Arab Emirates flying out of bases in Egypt have also conducted at least two strikes against Libya Dawn forces here.
In an interview after the strikes Monday night, Soqr Joroshi, the leader of the Tobruk faction’s air force, said his side had warned Libya Dawn to close its airports and seaports here and in Misurata and Zwara.
“We warned the people two days ago not to use those airports, so no innocent people get caught up in our airstrikes,” he said. “We are moving the fight to the western region,” he added, saying that the strike had aimed for runways, weapons depots and recently repaired jets he suggested Libya Dawn had sought to use. “Victory is near.”