TRIPOLI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed government issued an arrest warrant against the east-based army commander Khalifa Haftar on Thursday, as the army and the government continue fighting over control of Tripoli.

The order to arrest Haftar and 6 other military officials was issued by Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, citing their involvement in deadly airstrikes on residential areas in the capital Tripoli, according to the prime minister's information office.

On Tuesday, parts of southern Tripoli were hit by shells, which killed and injured several people and destroyed several houses.

Haftar's army has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over Tripoli, where the UN-backed government is based.

According to the World Health Organization, the fighting between the army and the government forces has so far killed 205 people and injured 913 others, while forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.