Libya government suspends peace talks after port attack

The UN-backed government in Libya has suspended peace talks in Geneva, following an attack on a strategic port in Tripoli late on Tuesday.

"We announce suspending our participation in the military talks held in Geneva until strict stances are taken towards the aggressor and its vioaltions ," the Goverment of National Accord (GNA) said in a statement. 

"The militias hit Tripoli's port which is considered a lifeline for many of Libya's cities," it added. Tripoli's port is a major gateway for food, fuel and other supplies, for the capital and beyond. "Negotiations don't mean anything without permanent cease-fire guarantees returning the displaced people and the security of the capital and the other cities," the GNA said. 

Read more: Libya war: UN Security Council adopts cease-fire resolution

The attack came as senior officers from the army and the main rebel forces were starting their second round of UN-brokered peace talks in Switzerland.

LPG tanker narrowly missed in attack

Military commander Khalifa Haftar's forces, the largest of a series of militia and rebel groups in Libya, have been vying for control of the country with the internationally-recognized government based in the capital, advancing on Tripoli in recent months. 

Haftar's forces said they had attacked a depot for weapons and ammuniton at the port "to weaken the combat capabilities of the mercenaries who arrived from Syria" to support Tripoli. 

Turkey said that Haftar's forces had fired on a Turkish ship near the port but "missed" the target. A presidential spokesman said Turkish forces returned fire.

Read more: Can the EU's new arms-embargo mission to Libya be effective?

Turkey has sent several ships carrying arms, trucks and militias to Tripoli and the western port of Misrata, also held by the GNA, since January. 

Libya's state oil company NOC said it had removed all its fuel tankers from the port area after the attack following a near miss on "a highly explosive liquefied petroleum gas tanker discharging in the port." NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said it "could have led to a humanitarian and environmental disaster."

dvv/msh (AP, Reuters, dpa)