Possibly as many as 130 soldiers of the Libyan National Army [7], loyal to the eastern commander Khalifa Haftar [8], are reported to have been summarily executed after a mixed force loyal to the Tripoli-based "official" Government of National Accord [8] took the Brak al-Shatti airbase in the country's south May 18. The attacking troops were members of the Third Force militia from Misrata the Benghazi Defense Brigades [9]. The mayor of Brak al-Shatti reported that most of the defenders were killed with a shot to the head, but five beheaded. "They killed everyone at the base: soldiers, cooks, cleaners," said one LNA source.
The GNA's Presidency Council insisted it had nothing to do with the massacre—despite the fact that the Third Force militia had recently been intergated into the 13th Battalion of Libyan Army, under direct command of the GNA's Defense Ministry. (Libya Herald [10], May 19; Libya Observer [11], Libya Herald [12], May 18)
The Benghazi Defense Brigades also made gains along the coast, capturing the oil ports [9] of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf. (Al Jazeera [13], March 4)
