'Fully-fledged war crimes': Fresh Haftar airstrikes batter Libya

War planes from Libyan warlord General Khalifa Haftar forces led an intensified campaign of airstrikes on Tuesday morning, wounding another 13 civilians in the port city of Misrata, hours after a biscuit factory was bombed.

Haftar's forces, based in east Libya and waging a campaign to take the capital Tripoli, confirmed on Tuesday they had struck a munitions depot in Misrata.

The casualties bring the toll from the past 24 hours to seven killed and 58 injured - all of whom were civilians - in strikes from Haftar's planes, after a heavy strike on a factory in Tripoli on Monday.

Most of those killed on Monday were foreign workers, including nationals from Bangladesh, Egypt and Niger.

Comment: It's time for the ICC to indict Haftar for war crimes

They died when the factory in Wadi Rabi, a suburb at the centre of fighting for control of the capital, took a direct hit.

In the wake of the attack, the interior ministry of Libya’s UN-recognised government released a statement, confirming the deaths and adding that the strike constituted a "fully-fledged war crime".

The ministry called on the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to act swiftly to prosecute the perpetrators, including the Chinese aircraft manufacturer it accused of providing Haftar with planes.

Fierce fighting has gripped Tripoli since rogue general Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to take the capital in April, but met fierce resistance from forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord.

In 2011, Libya's long-standing dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown by revolutionaries, leading to fighting between rival militias.

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