Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Nine civilians were reported killed by LNA airstrikes on Tajoura, Tripoli, on June 15th.
Numerous sources initially cite the injuring of nine civilians in the airstrike, yet later sources, Business Standard and Xinhua, allege the death of nine civilians in the attack. Meanwhile, Athabat news state that nine civilians were wounded, and one killed in the airstrike.
Xinhua stated that of those killed, one was a child and two were women.
According to this source, “the air force of Libya’s eastern-based army on Saturday targeted a military store of the rival UN-backed government in the eastern part of the capital Tripoli, killing nine people and damaging a nearby hospital.”
Athabat News quoted Amin al-Hashimi, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in the National Reconciliation Government, stating that “the victims fell as a result of shrapnel scattered to a long distance,” also claiming that the camp that was targeted “was close to densely populated neighborhoods.”
Other sources reported the damaging of a hospital in the attack, with Libya Akhbar claiming that “the Tajoura heart hospital was severely damaged and that its windows were damaged by the bombing of the municipality.”
Business Standard stated that “fighting broke out between the LNA and GNA after Haftar’s forces launched an offensive in April to retake Tripoli. More than 90,000 people have been displaced ever since the fighting broke out, while over 650 people have lost their lives.”
An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International later concluded: “The apparent target was a GNA militia’s weapons depot in an adjacent compound, which was hit by another airstrike, causing a number of secondary explosions and a large fire. Fragments recovered by Amnesty International investigators at the scene of the strike on the civilian home confirm that the weapon was an unguided French SAMP 250kg bomb. This is a large explosive weapon, with a blast radius of over 600m, and therefore not an appropriate weapon to use in populated urban areas.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (2)
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of the Tajoura Heart Hospital (مستشفى القلب تاجوراء), for which the generic coordinates are: 32.877222, 13.396111. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (9) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]
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The airstrike on Trajoura, Tripoli, on June 15th (via Hona Sog Al-Khmies Emsihel)
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Image Caption Translation: "The head of the Crisis and Emergency Committee at the Ministry of Health of the Government of Al-Wefaq, Fawzi Onis, condemned the shelling of the municipality of Tajoura, which resulted in the injury of 9 wounded civilians in the area. Onis stressed that exposing civilians and hospitals to danger is a moral crime that violates all local and international laws and customs. He added that the Tajoura heart hospital was severely damaged and that its windows were damaged by the bombing of the municipality." (via Libyaakhbar News)
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Caption translation: "9 civilians injured by the bombing of a military aircraft on the sites close to the Tatura heart hospital, according to the Ministry of Health Al-Wefaq, and also damaged the homes of civilians." (via Fada’eh lybia)