Smoke rises near buildings after heavy fighting
between rival militias broke out near the airport in
Tripoli July 13, 2014.
(Reuters) - The United Nations on Monday pulled its
staff out of Libya where at least 13 people have been
killed in fighting in the eastern city of Benghazi and
in Tripoli, forcing the closure of the international
airport.
Security and medical sources said at least six people
had been killed and 25 wounded in Benghazi in heavy
fighting between security forces and rival militias
since late Sunday.
Militias also clashed in the capital Tripoli on
Sunday, killing at least seven people, shutting the main
airport and air control centre and effectively leaving
Libya with no international flights. The fighting was
the worst in the capital for six months.
The U.N. mission in Libya said the closure of Tripoli
International Airport and the deteriorating security
situation made it impossible to fulfil its work.
Several Grad rockets hit the airport, damaging the
control tower, a Libyan official said. A Reuters
reporter at the airport heard anti-aircraft guns and
other heavy weapons. Rival militias have been fighting
for control of the airport since Sunday. Residents
earlier said a Grad rocket struck the airport perimeter
late on Monday. No further details were available.
Three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya
has slipped deeper into chaos with its weak government
and new army unable to control brigades of former rebel
fighters and militias who often battle for political and
economic power.
In Benghazi, irregular forces loyal to renegade
former general Khalifa Haftar bombarded Islamist militia
bases as part of his campaign to oust militants, and
special forces also clashed with militia fighters in the
city.
Most of the dead and injured were civilians,
according to security and medical sources at Benghazi
hospital. At least 10 houses were hit with missiles and
government offices and banks were forced to close.
Tripoli airport and Misrata city airport were closed
on Monday which, along with the closure two months ago
of Benghazi airport, leaves the country with only a land
route to Tunisia, a flashback to the 1990s when Libya
was under U.N. sanctions.
The Tripoli air control centre covering western Libya
was closed because it was not safe for staff to go to
work, aviation officials and state news agency Lana said
on Monday. The control centre is responsible for traffic
in Tripoli, Misrata and Sabha.
That leaves only the tiny Labraq and Tobruk airports
in the east, with few international connections, open
for traffic. People living in western Libya must make an
arduous road journey to Tunisia.
Western powers fear chaos in Libya will allow arms
and militants to flow across its borders. The south of
the vast desert country has become a haven for Islamist
militants kicked out of Mali by French forces earlier
this year.
(Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli, Feras Bosalum and
Ulf Laessing; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by
Janet Lawrence and
James Dalgleish)
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/14/us-libya-violence-idUSKBN0FJ0ZT20140714