At least 10 people were killed in clashes in the vicinity of the airport near the Libyan capital of Tripoli after an attack by an armed group, the government announced.
The Special Deterrence Force, which is charged with ensuring airport security on its Facebook page, said an “attack” targeted the site of the international airport “and the prison where more than 2,500 people are detained on various issues.” It said the attack was aimed at “liberating” a number of prisoners from the attack group.
The attack was aimed at freeing terrorists from al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda and other organizations from their detention center, which is overseen by the Interior Ministry’s Special Deterrent Forces.
Libya’s health ministry said 10 people had been killed and their bodies taken to two hospitals in the capital. It did not say whether the dead were civilians or military personnel.
Fifteen people were wounded, three of them seriously, and were taken to Misurata Hospital, 200 km east of Tripoli.
The Tripoli security department, which is also part of the Interior Ministry, said security forces had arrested several of the attackers.
“All the facilities of the base and the airport are under control and there has been no damage,” authorities said.
The administration of the international airport, the only currently operating in the Libyan capital, announced earlier the suspension of air navigation “as a result of clashes.” All roads leading to the airport were closed.
The resumption of air traffic at the airport was not announced until afternoon.
The presidential council of the National Reconciliation Government condemned in a statement posted on Facebook the “overnight assault”, stressing that “what happened is tampering with the security of the capital, to endanger the lives of passengers and aviation safety.”
– Competing groups –
On Monday morning, I heard the sounds of clashes with heavy weapons to Tajoura, 30 km east of Tripoli, according to AFP correspondents.
Despite the relative improvement in security in the Libyan capital since the summer of 2017, it is witnessing a sporadic fighting in the vicinity of the airport of Meteika, which is disputed by armed groups.
The “deterrent force” is mainly composed of Salafis based mainly in the east of the Libyan capital. It is loyal to the Sarraj government backed by the international community. It is in charge of the Tripoli police force and is hunting smugglers and suspected members of extremist Islamic organizations.
The government of national reconciliation has been stable in Tripoli for nearly two years, but has difficulties in extending its authority over the whole country, especially because of a parallel authority in the east.
Maitika airport, a former military base east of the capital under the control of the national reconciliation government, is being used instead of Tripoli airport, which was badly damaged during the 2014 clashes.
To date, only Libyan airlines operate in the country and operate domestic and regular flights to Tunis, Alexandria, Amman, Khartoum and Istanbul.
The EU has banned all Libyan airlines from using its airspace for “security reasons”.
Since the overthrow of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011, Libya has lived in chaos.
The United Nations has drawn up a plan of action that specifically called for elections in 2018 to try to break the crisis.
