GNA Forces Stop Advance of Haftar's LNA Troops on Tripoli - Source

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Forces supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA) announced on Friday they were able to stop the offensive of the Libyan National Army led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on Tripoli, a source in Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj's entourage told Sputnik.

According to the source, Haftar's troops advanced in the western direction capturing, in particular, the city of Gharyan, and then entrenched in the checkpoint area 27 kilometres (some 17 miles) from Tripoli.

"However, last night, the [pro-government] forces arriving from Tripoli and Az-Zawiyah launched a counterattack and encircled them", the source said, adding that at least 150 people from Haftar's units, as well as about 60 vehicles, were captured.

READ MORE: Haftar Army Takes Control of Several Southwest Areas of Tripoli — Source

On Wednesday, the GNA declared a general military alert after Haftar-led eastern forces announced they were moving to western parts of the country. In the meantime, according to Sputnik source, Sarraj, remains in Tripoli despite the LNA offensive.

As a result of the years-long civil conflict, there is no single central government in Libya, and the country's eastern and western parts are controlled by separate powers. The Tobruk-based parliament, elected in 2014 and backed by the Libyan National Army, governs the east of Libya, while the UN-supported interim Government of National Accord controls Libya's western parts from Tripoli.