Clashes between rival Libyan militias fighting for control of the international airport in the capital, Tripoli, have been stepped up, leaving at least 47 people dead over the past 24 hours, Libya's Health Ministry said. Witnessing one of its worst spasms of violence since the ouster of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country's rival militias, made up largely of former rebels, have also forced a weeklong closure of gas stations and government offices.
The fighting, which erupted on July 13 and shut Tripoli international airport, also injured 120 people, according to figures for the week until Saturday, the ministry said on its website late Sunday, adding that it had not yet received the full casualty report. The fresh outbreak of violence was condemned by the European Union on Sunday, two days after the collapse of a truce with the militia controlling the airport, which left five civilians dead, the Associated Press reported.
The weeklong battle over the airport is being waged by a powerful militia from the western city of Zintan, which controls the facility, and Islamist-led militias, including fighters from Misrata, east of Tripoli. After cease-fire efforts failed, the clashes resumed Sunday.
Television footage broadcast Sunday showed a mortar shell striking a Libyan Arab Airlines plane and a column of black smoke billowing from inside the airport, which has halted all flights and caused extensive damage to planes and airport infrastructure, with aviation officials saying Tripoli airport could be closed for months. "The airport was attacked this morning with mortar rounds, rockets and tank fire," Al-Dahesh told Agence France-Presse. "It was the most intense bombardment so far."
In recent days, banks have been forced to close down since armed men have repeatedly attacked vehicles carrying money from the Central Bank to local banks. Although the Central Bank had claimed that banks would reopen Sunday, they remained closed as the fighting resumed.
"Libyan government officials and activists have increasingly been targeted in the violence. Unknown gunmen kidnapped two lawmakers in the western suburbs of Tripoli on Sunday, a parliament statement said, and urged the government to intervene to free them," according to the AP. "Last Thursday, a female lawmaker in a liberal-leaning political bloc in the outgoing parliament, Fareha al-Barqawi, was killed in the eastern city of Darna. The motives behind the killing were not known, but such targeted killings rampant in Libya over the past two years have been blamed on the militias, which successive governments have struggled to control."
Meanwhile, relentless violence across Libya this year, including a war against Islamists in the east launched by a rogue general, has sparked fears of all-out civil war, with the country's growing lawlessness alarming neighboring states of a spillover of violence.
The European Union mission in Libya issued a statement Sunday urging fighters to lay down their arms and spare civilians, according to AFP. "The EU is concerned about the protracted conflict over Tripoli international airport and urges all parties to exercise restraint, to abide by international law and to respect civilians," it said. "The EU calls on all parties to find a peaceful resolution through dialogue and compromise... there is no military solution to the crisis in Libya... the only option is a political solution and a peaceful democratic process."
The U.N. Support Mission in Libya said last week it was temporarily withdrawing its staff because of the deteriorating security situation.
