Tripoli, March 24 (RHC)-- The Libyan army has launched airstrikes against militant positions near the capital city of Tripoli. According to the Libyan army spokesman, Colonel Ahmed al-Mesmari, the strikes targeted “a weapons storage facility” belonging to the Libya Dawn militia alliance in Tarhuna, some 80 kilometers southeast of the capital.

Mesmari added that Libya Dawn militants, who are in control of Tripoli, attacked the house of a military officer and murdered “his wife, his daughter, his son, his brother and other people who were there” in retaliation for the army airstrikes.

This is while a spokesman for the militant group rejected Mesmari’s claim about the murders. The spokesman also said there is no weapons depot in Tarhuna, adding that the army offensive hit a refugee camp and killed eight civilians.

Last week, Libya’s internationally recognized government announced that the army has started an operation to recapture the capital city of Tripoli from armed militants. Despite the ongoing clashes in the strife-torn country, Libya’s warring factions continue to take part in UN-brokered talks in the Moroccan coastal town of Skhirat.

On Monday, United Nations Special Envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon expressed hope that the two sides would agree on a national unity government by the end of the week.