Tripoli military school airstrike

Tripoli military school airstrike
Part of Western Libya campaign of the Second Libyan Civil War
Location	Al-Hadhba military school, Tripoli, Libya
Date	January 4, 2020 9pm
Target	Cadets
Weapon	Blue Arrow 7 missile from a Wing Loong II drone
Deaths	26
Injured	33
Perpetrator	United Arab Emirates Libyan National Army

On January 4, 2020, the United Arab Emirates aiding the Libyan National Army launched an airstrike on a military school used by the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli, Libya. Twenty-six people were killed and thirty-three were wounded.

Prelude

Main article: Western Libya campaign

The Libyan National Army, a rival government and faction that fought the UN-recognized Government of National Accord during the Second Libyan Civil War, launched an offensive against the GNA headquarters and Libyan capital of Tripoli in April 2019. On December 12, 2019, LNA commander Khalifa Haftar announced the "final battle" for Tripoli, committing more forces to the city. The LNA also increased its air presence around the city. In the Hadhba neighborhood that same day, five civilians were killed by LNA bombings.

Airstrike

Around 9pm on January 4, around 50 cadets of the GNA-affiliated Al-Hadhba military school were on a parade grounds, waiting to be sent back to their dormitories. Most of the cadets were students between the ages of 18 and 22, from cities across Libya. When the paramedics arrived, it was hard to discern and identify bodies due to many being charred. Videos from tripoli hospitals showed limbless cadets and bloodied floors. The initial death toll of the attack reported by the GNA was sixteen killed and thirty-seven injured, but this rose to twenty-six killed and thirty-three injured. A survivor of the attack stated he saw "guys whose torsos were separated from their bodies... and we couldn't do anything."

Aftermath

A United Nations report discovered that the United Arab Emirates, who backs the LNA, was operating the drone that conducted the airstrike at the behest of the LNA. The missile was a Chinese Blue Arrow 7 missile fired from a Wing Loong II drone. Students who survived the attack urged international authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable for the airstrike in a statement given on the one-year anniversary of the airstrike.

Reactions

• The GNA called to refer Haftar and his associates to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
• UNSMIL condemned the attack.