The death toll in the attack of a rebel airbase in south Libya rose to 140, a spokesman for military strongman Khalifa Haftar said. Originally the number of fatalities was listed as 60 on Thursday when a government-allied militia tried to take over the Brak al-Shati base controlled by the Libyan National Army.

Start the conversation, or Read more at UPI. </s> A spokesman for east Libyan armed forces said on Friday that as many as 141 people had been killed a day earlier in an attack on a southern air base. Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the eastern-based Libyan National Army , said 103 of those killed in the attack at Brak Al-Shati air base were LNA troops stationed in the area.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters. </s> A spokesman for east Libyan armed forces said on Friday that as many as 141 people had been killed a day earlier in an attack on a southern air base, Reuters reported.

Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), said 103 of those killed in the attack at Brak Al-Shati air base were LNA troops stationed in the area.

Earlier, the mayor of Brak Al-Shati and a medical source in the town put the death toll at 89, though the medical official said some bodies had not been brought to the hospital.

It was not possible to independently verify the number of casualties. Local and LNA officials have said that some of those killed were civilians who appeared to have been summarily executed. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Many of those killed were from the Libyan National Army, seen in action in this file photo

Reports suggest as many as 140 people, including civilians, may have died in an attack on an airbase in Libya.

It was originally thought 60 people died when a government-allied militia tried to take over the Brak al-Shati base on Thursday.

The UN-backed government's defence minister and the commander of the militia have both been suspended pending an investigation.

The prime minister's office has denied ordering the attack.

A militia spokesman said they had "liberated the base and destroyed all the forces inside".

The town's mayor said some aircraft had been set ablaze.

Most of the dead were soldiers of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), an alliance in the east of the country which does not recognise the government in the capital, Tripoli. That force has been in control of the airbase since December.

Its spokesman gave the new death toll of 140.

"The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren't armed. Most of them were executed," he said.

The UN's envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said he was "outraged" by reports of summary executions.

The attack breached an informal truce between the rival forces that was reached earlier this month when the LNA's commander, General Khalifa Haftar, met the UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

The Tripoli government has set up an investigative committee to present its findings to the prime minister within 15 days. </s> As many as 141 people have died in an attack on an airbase in southern Libya, Reuters reported on Friday. The Third Force militia, which is loyal to the United Nations-backed government of national accord in Tripoli, attacked the airbase held by military strongman Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, on Thursday.

Embarrassed by the scale of the damage caused, the government of national accord suspended its defence minister, al-Mahdi al-Barghati, and the head of the Third Force pending an inquiry. It also said it had not ordered the attack and condemned it.

The Brak-al-Shati airbase was a bone of contention between the two competing militias based in eastern and western Libya. The majority of those who died were soldiers of the LNA, but several civilians were also killed, The Guardian reported.

“The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren’t armed. Most of them were executed,” spokesperson of the LNA, Ahmad al-Mesmari said.

Since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the African country has been torn apart by a bloody civil war. The western part of the country is controlled by the government of national unity, while the rival LNA has charge of the east. Neither recognises the other. </s> At least 141 people including civilians were killed in an attack on Brak al-Shati airbase used by Libya's Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA).

The attack was reportedly launched by the Third Force militia, of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. LNA spokesperson informed that the soldiers killed in the attack were unarmed and were executed while returning from a military parade.

The Government of National Accord has released a statement condemning the attack and informing that a commission of inquiry has been set up to investigate the matter.

The GNA has also suspended defence minister, al-Mahdi al-Barghati, and the head of the Third Force until the investigation is complete.

The attack follows a month after the LNA attacked the Tamenhant airbase controlled by the Third Force.

Libya has suffered unrest since Muammar Gaddafi's assassination as rival militias and authorities collided vying for the country's control. (ANI) </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some 140 people, including civilians, have died in an attack by Libyan militia loyal to UN-backed government on the opposition-held Brak al-Shati airbase, a spokesman for the opposition has said.

The BBC broadcaster said Saturday the government of national accord (GNA) had denied ordering the allied militia to strike on Thursday the southern base manned by the Libyan National Army (LNA).

"The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren't armed. Most of them were executed," the LNA member said.

GNA's defense minister and militia's commander have reportedly been suspended pending the probe.

UN special envoy for Libya Martin Kobler condemned what he said was an unprovoked attack. He said he was outraged by reports of fatalities that included civilians and possible summary executions and urged the sides not to push into further conflict. </s> TRIPOLI (Reuters) - An air strike on the southern Libyan town of Murzuq has killed more than 30 people, residents said on Monday.

Eastern Libyan forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar confirmed a strike late on Sunday on the town deep in Libya's south but denied they had targeted any civilians. </s> An attack on an airbase in south Libya has killed 141 people, mostly soldiers loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar, a spokesman for his forces said on Friday.

Members of the Third Force militia loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli on Thursday attacked the base used by Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), military sources said earlier.

LNA spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari late Friday said the victims included civilians who worked at the Brak al-Shati airbase or were in the nearby area, also reporting that summary executions took place.

"The soldiers were returning from a military parade. They weren't armed. Most of them were executed," he said.

The GNA said in a statement late Friday a commission of inquiry had been set up to investigate the attack.

It said it had decided to suspend its defence minister, al-Mahdi al-Barghati, and the head of the Third Force from their duties until those responsible were identified.

Both the GNA and defence ministry earlier condemned the assault and said they had not ordered any such action.

The unity government, the rival administration in eastern Libya and their respective backers are battling for influence in the North African country which has been wracked by chaos since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

The LNA does not recognise the authority of the GNA, and instead supports the rival authorities based in the east.

The UN envoy to Libya earlier on Friday voiced alarm at reports of the attack on the base, 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of Tripoli.

"I am outraged by reports of significant numbers of fatalities, including civilians and by reports that summary executions may have taken place," UN envoy Martin Kobler said in a statement.

Britain's ambassador to Libya, Peter Millett, also denounced the assault.

"Disgusted by attack on Brak al-Shati & reports of mass executions. Perpetrators must be brought to justice," he wrote on Twitter.

The incident at the base in Wadi al-Shati district comes a month after an attack by the LNA on the Tamenhant airbase controlled by the Third Force near the south's main city of Sebha.

That attack was called off after a reconciliation meeting between Haftar and unity government head Fayez al-Sarraj in Abu Dhabi on May 2.

The speaker of the eastern-based parliament, which is supported by the LNA, accused the Misrata-based Third Force of a "serious breach of the truce agreement reached in Abu Dhabi".

Aguila Saleh said there were a "number of martyrs" in LNA ranks, without giving a figure.

The speaker said he had given orders for the armed forces "to take the measures necessary to respond to the assault and defend the south and cleanse it of all outlaw militias".

In Tripoli, the GNA called for an immediate ceasefire in the south, where tribes and militias vie for control of lucrative smuggling routes with neighbouring Chad, Niger and Sudan.

"We hope reason will prevail and that the escalation and provocation will stop," it said.

The unity government's defence ministry laid the blame on "those who started bombing Tamenhant base with warplanes and tanks", referring to Haftar's forces.

In new violence on Friday, a pro-Haftar tribal chief, Sheikh Ibrayek Alwati, and five other people including a child were killed in a car bombing outside a mosque in the eastern city of Slouq, medical and security sources said. </s> At least four people are now known to have been killed in an explosion targeting the funeral of a soldier of the Libyan National Army in Benghazi.The spokesman of the army, Ahmed Mesmary told journalists that a car rigged with explosives had gone off during the funeral of Khalifa Mesmari in Hawari cemetery in Libya’s eastern city on Thursday.

He said aside from the four people killed, 26 others were wounded in the blast as a number of officers of the LNA attended the funeral.

This incident comes amidst an ongoing campaign by the Libyan National Army under the command of Khalifa Hafter to wrest control of Tripoli from the internationally backed National Accord Government.

Meanwhile health officials in the country have put fatality figures since the battle for Tripoli began in April at 100 people killed, 500 wounded and about 120, 000 displaced.
The death toll from an attack on a Libyan National Army-controlled airbase in southern Libya reportedly rises to 140 people.