Heavy fighting broke out between rival militias vying for control of Libya’s main airport yesterday, killing at least seven people and forcing a halt of all flights in the worst fighting in the capital for six months.
Explosions and anti-aircraft gunfire were heard from early morning on the airport road and other parts of Tripoli until the situation seemed to calm down in the late afternoon.
Residents said that militiamen from the northwestern region of Zintan who had controlled the airport came under fire, and local TV footage suggested that the attacking rebels were from the western city of Misurata.
Seven people were killed and 36 wounded in the latest clashes
The fighting is part of growing turmoil in the North African oil producer, where the government is unable to control battle-hardened militias that helped to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but continue to defy state authority.
Many Libyans are weary of militias whose members theoretically work for the government but who in reality appear to do as they please — fighting each other or seizing oilfields and ministries as they press their own financial and political demands on authorities.
Zintan forces, which have controlled the airport since Gaddafi’s ousting, and Misratis had been put on the state payroll in an unsuccessful attempt by the government to secure their cooperation and try to bolster the rule of law. Seven people were killed and 36 wounded in the latest clashes, the Health Ministry said.
Comments on pro-Misrata websites suggested that the force was freeing the airport from Zintani control to hand it over to authorities.
The central government denounced the attackers as illegal.
“The operation is led by civil leaders belonging to brigades and troops moving without orders and legal cover,” the government of Prime Minister Abdulllah al-Thinni said in a statement. Meanwhile, local news channel al-Nabaa showed men in military vehicles with Misurata insignia opening fire with heavy weapons.
Heavy smoke could be seen rising above the airport as an official said: “All domestic and international flights have been halted.”