By Libya Herald reporters.
Misrata/Beida/Tripoli, 28 December 2014:
Jet fighters from the Libya National Army (LNA) this morning bombed the Military Aviation Academy . . .[restrict]at Misrata, the Free Port west of the city centre and the nearby Lisco iron and steel works.
The academy is located at the airport which the government in Beida last week banned aircraft from using.
No one was hurt in the attacks, nor was there any significant damage other than to a perimeter wall at the Free Port. Otherwise the missiles all landed in open space.
Confirming the strikes, the a spokesman for the airport said that it was operating normally although a Turkish Airways flight to Istanbul due to take off at the time of the raid was delayed. It has since taken off as has ULS cargo flight, also for Istanbul.
The raids are seen as a response by Operation Dignity and the LNA to the attacks on Sidra oil terminal by Operation Sunrise, many of whose forces are from Misrata. At a meeting of Operation Dignity commanders in Marj last night, a senior commander is reported to have said that Misrata needed to be “taught a lesson”. They also came after the ending of a 72-hour ultimatum from the LNA to Libya Dawn forces to pull back from Ben Jawad to Misrata.
Residents in Misrata were expected to join demonstrations in the city later this afternoon to protest the raids. [/restrict]
