A damaged aircraft is seen after shelling at Tripoli International Airport. Photo: Aimen Elsahli/Reuters

Islamic militants have reinstated Libya’s former parliament, prompting Foreign Minister George Vella to express concern yesterday at the deepening political crisis.

The previous parliament, known as the General National Congress, was dominated by Islamists and had ousted former prime minister Ali Zeidan.

Dr Vella said the latest move by the Islamists, who captured Tripoli airport over the weekend, would threaten the legitimacy of the recently elected Libyan parliament.

He also urged vigilance at the possible infiltration of Islamic extremists from Islamic State into Libya and possibly Malta. Formerly known as Isis, Islamic State is a brutal group that has captured large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

“No country can say it is immune to extremists… we are a multi-ethnic community and there is awareness at government level that we have to be vigilant,” he told Times of Malta yesterday. His comments came in the wake of developments that saw Islamic militants aligned with the Misurata militias taking the upper hand in Libya.

No country can say it is immune to extremists... we are a multi-ethnic community and there is awareness at government level that we have to be vigilant

Although Libya’s Islamic militants were not the extremists causing mayhem in Iraq, Dr Vella said the risk of infiltration could not be underestimated.

“Unless Libyan militias fighting each other reach an agreement to achieve peace, I fear the current chaotic situation could provide fertile ground for extremists to infiltrate through the back door,” he said.

Although some Islamists in the east of Libya are linked to the radical group Ansar al-Sharia and possibly al-Qaeda, the majority hail from the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood, Dr Vella added.

But the development does not help matters as it effectively creates two rival parliaments.

The recently elected House of Representatives in the northeastern city of Tobruk is unable to enforce decisions since the government has no army and police.

“We have to tread very carefully because while we try not to take sides we are legally obliged to recognise the government and parliament that were elected democratically,” Dr Vella said.

He noted that Malta had open channels of communication with both warring factions – the secular western-based Zintani militias and the eastern-based Islamists.

“We have to accept that moderate Islam in government, as long as it accepts basic democratic principles, should not be of concern,” he said, adding that Tunisia was a fine example of how Islamists had stepped down from government to allow talks on the constitution to continue.

Developments in Libya have complicated the mission of UN special envoy Bernardino Leon, who is expected in the country later this week, to try to broker a ceasefire between rival factions.

“I believe Leon should have gone earlier to Libya because now one side has claimed victory and this makes it more difficult for him,” Dr Vella said.

Over the past month Islamic militants fought to wrest control of Tripoli airport from the Zintanis, who held the site since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted three years ago.

Unidentified military aircraft also bombed sites held by Islamists in the capital. Unverified reports said military jets may have been Egyptian as the government there increasingly fears the presence of Islamic militants taking root in Libya.

Dr Vella said the fight over Tripoli airport was important for whoever wanted to use air transport to import arms, fighters and equipment.

“The Misuratans wanted to capture it so that they could cut the supplies for the Zintanis, who have no such infrastructure in the west.”

However, he acknowledged that the uncertainty had everyone concerned since the situation was getting more complicated by the day.

Reuters reported the Libyan ambassador to Egypt saying his country wanted the international community to help protect oilfields, airports and other State assets as it was too weak to stop armed groups fighting for control.

But Libya’s neighbours agreed yesterday not to intervene in Libyan affairs to end chaos and clashes in the oil producer, calling instead for a national dialogue.

Western powers and Libya’s neighbours fear the Opec producer will become a failed state or slide into civil war after former rebels who helped topple strongman Gaddafi in 2011 have turned their guns on each other.