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Clashes between Libyan militias near Tripoli airport leave two dead | Clashes between Libyan militias near Tripoli airport leave two dead |
(35 minutes later) | |
At least two people were killed when a stray rocket hit their house as rival Libyan militias exchanged heavy fire around Tripoli's international airport, according to a security official. | At least two people were killed when a stray rocket hit their house as rival Libyan militias exchanged heavy fire around Tripoli's international airport, according to a security official. |
A powerful militia from the western city of Zintan, which controls the airport, has been engaged in aweek-long battle for the facility with Islamist-led militias, including fighters from Misrata, to the east of Tripoli. | |
The bombardment resumed early on Sunday after ceasefire efforts failed, the official said on condition of anonymity. | |
A mortar shell hit a Libyan Arab Airlines plane and a column of black smoke could be seen rising from inside the airport, which has been closed since Monday. | |
Tripoli is witnessing one of its worst periods of violence since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted in 2011. The rival militias, made up largely of former rebels, have forced a week-long closure of petrol stations and government offices. | |
Armed men have attacked vehicles carrying money from the central bank to local branches, forcing their closure. | |
In Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, gunmen killed an army officer on Saturday while he was driving home in his car, and early on Sunday a former special forces officer was shot dead in the downtown Salmani district, according to a local security official. The UN support mission in Libya said last week that it was withdrawing its staff temporarily because of the deteriorating security situation. |