Official says east Libya forces retake key town from rivals

Libya’s eastern-based forces on Sunday retook a key town from militias allied with the U.N.-supported government, a spokesman said, as growing foreign intervention in the conflict appeared to move the Libyan war into a new phase.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country is now split between a government in the east allied with the former army commander Khalifa Hifter, and one in Tripoli in the west supported by the United Nations.

Ahmed al-Mosmari, a spokesman for Hifter's self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces, said they recaptured the town of al-Asabaa, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the capital, after airstrikes on the militias in the area.

The eastern-based forces have been trying to take the capital from the weak but U.N.-supported government since last spring.

Increasing Turkish support for the Tripoli government has turned the conflict after months of stalemate, leading to a series of defeats for Hifter in recent weeks.

Al-Asabaa is located on a key road that links LAAF forces to the town of Tarhuna, their main western stronghold and supply line southeast of the capital.

The spokesman said their troops were chasing Tripoli-allied forces fleeing to their stronghold in the nearby town of Gharyan.

A statement by Mohamed Gnono, a spokesman for the Tripoli-allied forces, said they were striking LAAF forces on the town’s borders.

Gnono did not provide details. But two Tripoli officials said they lost the town after heavy shelling and airstrikes by eastern forces. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

The chaos in Libya has worsened in recent months as foreign backers increasingly intervene, despite pledges to the contrary at a high-profile peace summit in Berlin earlier this year.

Hifter is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the Tripoli-allied militias are aided by Turkey, Qatar and Italy.

The LAAF lost a key airbase and several western town including al-Asabaa late last month.

Despite his losses, Hifter vowed to continue his offensive and escalated airstrikes against rival forces.

Last month, the U.S. military accused Russia of deploying 14 aircrafts to Libya to help Hifter’s forces, saying the move was part of Moscow's longer term goal to establish a foothold in the region that could threaten NATO allies. Russia has denied links to the aircraft, calling the claim “stupidity.”