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Sources from both sides, the government in Libya and the rebels, said the military plane had been downed near Tripoli on Sunday.

Fighting has in recent days intensified near the capital, which is the seat of Libya’s internationally-recognized government.

Rebel forces under the command of a general named Khalifa Haftar have been fighting in an offensive to take over the capital and unseat the government since April last year. They have remained bogged down on the city’s outskirts.

On March 21, Haftar claimed full adherence to a humanitarian truce that focused on efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak in the African country, but his forces continued violating the ceasefire and bombing various locations in the capital.

The breach compelled the Libyan government to launch an operation on March 25 to push the rebels back.

Reports said on Friday that government forces had downed Sukhoi-22 warplanes operated by the rebels.

Libya plunged into chaos in 2011 when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Since 2014, two rival seats of power have emerged in the North African country — the United Nations (UN)-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, and another group based in the eastern city of Tobruk supported militarily by Haftar’s rebels.

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A meeting was held on Wednesday in the capital Tripoli among UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, Chairman of the High Council of State Khalid al-Meshri, and a number of senior political and military officials of the UN-backed government, according to the Interior Ministry.

The government and other participants of the meeting reviewed the latest developments of the crisis in Libya, including the talks toward a ceasefire agreement in Moscow and the upcoming Berlin conference on Libya, the ministry said, Xinhua news agency reported.

They stressed the importance of political and military efforts to end the ongoing conflict, it added.

On Monday, intra-Libyan talks mediated by Russia and Turkey reached no settlement, though efforts to reach a deal are expected to continue.

The east-based army had been leading a military campaign since early April, attempting to take over Tripoli from the UN-backed government.

The conflict killed and injured thousands of people, and displaced more than 120,000 civilians.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political instability, ever since the fall of its then-leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

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“Most were disembarked in Tripoli and all were taken to detention centers,” IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli told a UN media briefing at the UN offices in Geneva.

She said that NGO search and rescue vessels reported having rescued 237 others.

“The current sudden increase in departures is especially alarming given the very limited search and rescue capacity in the Mediterranean and specifically in the central Mediterranean,” said the IOM spokesperson, Anadolu Agency reported.

In the first two weeks of last year, not one of migrants returns to Libyan shores.

The returned migrants are among the more than 1,000 who have left Libya by sea since Jan. 1, driven in part by the heaviest clashes Tripoli has seen since hostilities began nine months ago, said Msehli.

Migrants told the IOM at disembarkation points in Libya that the escalation in hostilities in and around the capital and the deteriorating humanitarian situation are the main reasons behind this increase in departures.

Most of the returns were carried out by the Libyan coast guard.

During the same period last year, 23 bodies were recovered by the coast guard and no migrants were returned to Libya.

Over 1,000 other migrants who have registered for IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return program are still trapped in Libya due to the security situation.

“The challenging and unsafe environment in the country’s capital has disrupted aviation activities thus hindering an important lifeline for stranded migrants,” said Msehli.

On Jan. 12, the warring sides in the Libyan conflict announced a cease-fire.

Since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and the other in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.

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Erdogan made the announcement during a speech addressing the members of his AK Party on Thursday, adding that he would present legislation to parliament in January for the deployment to support the internationally-recognized government based in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

“Since there is an invitation (from Libya) right now, we will accept it,” the Turkish president said. “Turkey will put the bill on sending troops to Libya on the agenda as soon as parliament opens. God willing, we will pass it in parliament on January 8-9 and thus respond to the invitation.”

The Turkish parliament on Saturday ratified a security and military cooperation deal with Libya’s internationally-recognized government, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, but a separate mandate is needed to send Turkish troops to the North African country.

On Wednesday, Erdogan paid a surprise visit to Tunisia with his defense minister to discuss means of reaching a ceasefire in Libya, where anti-government militia groups have been fighting to capture the capital.

The militia, under the command of renegade General Khalifa Haftar, have been trying to seize the capital for nine months.

The Turkish president had already announced plans to increase military support for Tripoli if necessary.

Libya has been the scene of violence since 2011 when former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled after an uprising and a NATO military intervention.

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